UQP authors shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards

We're thrilled to have some good news to share after a challenging week: seven UQP authors have been shortlisted across nine categories in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Here's what the judges had to say:

The White Girl by Tony Birch

Shortlisted for the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and the Indigenous Writers' Prize

What the judges say:

'The White Girl is an ode to the strength, courage and resistance of Indigenous women. Told in spare and piercing prose, The White Girl plunges us wholly and engrossingly into the world of Odette Brown who is caring for her light-skinned granddaughter Sissy on the fringes of a rural town called Deane in the post-World War II era. Birch evokes Odette’s day-to-day struggles with an eye for the kind of complex, layered and evocative detail that gives her story, and the larger story of the Stolen Generations, all the dignity that it deserves.'

Australianama: The South Asian Odyssey in Australia by Samia Khatun

Shortlisted for the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction and the NSW Multicultural Award

What the judges say:

'To narrate the history of South Asians in Australia, Khatun draws on a rich array of sources and storytelling traditions, centring the voices and stories of South Asian and Aboriginal people. In doing so, she challenges her readers to think in new ways about Australian history and how we understand it.'

An Open Book by David Malouf

Shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry

What the judges say:

'Malouf’s craft is exemplary. His concerns, while uniquely expressed, are universal: selfhood’s hall of mirrors, the insistent resonances of childhood, the miraculous grace we find despite misunderstandings and the shortfall between our inner and outer lives.'

The Lost Arabs by Omar Sakr

Shortlisted for the NSW Multicultural Award

What the judges say:

'One of Harry’s key strengths is her capturing of the authentic voices of her characters. She uses gentle humour and the Australian vernacular to great effect...This is a moving and life-affirming work that teaches us recovery is possible even in the wake of significant knocks, and that small kindnesses can have a huge impact.'

Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

Shortlisted for the Indigenous Writers' Prize

What the judges say:

'This novel dares to go where many others would not. A close observation of intergenerational trauma, endemic rural poverty and family violence, Too Much Lip is at times confronting but is always compelling. Too Much Lip is laced with salty blak humour that just cannot be faked. This novel reckons with the ghosts of the past in a way few have, confronting them head-on in an unflinchingly honest story of survival, inherited legacies and the concurrence of past and present.'

The Little Wave by Pip Harry

Shortlisted for the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature

What the judges say:

'One of Harry’s key strengths is her capturing of the authentic voices of her characters. She uses gentle humour and the Australian vernacular to great effect. This is a moving and life-affirming work that teaches us recovery is possible even in the wake of significant knocks, and that small kindnesses can have a huge impact.'

Little Stones by Elizabeth Kuiper

Shortlisted for the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing

What the judges say:

'Little Stones tells the fascinating story of Hannah, a young white girl living in Zimbabwe during the reign of Robert Mugabe. The book’s greatest strength lies in the nuanced way this is shown through small details of everyday life, the casual bigotry Hannah witnesses and the complex relationship between her family and their beloved Shona housekeeper.'