2024 Miles Franklin shortlist revealed

Alexis Wright’s Stella Prize-winning Praiseworthy joins works by Gregory Day, André Dao, Sanya Rushdi, Jen Craig and Hossein Asgari competing for Australia’s most prestigious literary prize

The shortlist for the 2024 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

Six novels have been unveiled in this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist. The contenders include four first-time nominees, one previous winner — Alexis Wright — and Gregory Day, who has been short-listed twice before.

The novels vying for Australia’s most prestigious literary prize are: Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright (Giramando); Hospital by Sanya Rushdi (Giramando); Anam by André Dao (Hamish Hamilton); Wall by Jen Craig (Puncher & Wattman); The Bell of the World by Gregory Day (Translit Lounge); and Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari (Puncher & Wattmann). Notably, Asgari, Dao, and Rushdi are all debut novelists.

Australian author Alexis Wright

Wright, who this year became the first person to win the Stella Prize for Literature twice for her 727-page novel Praiseworthy, stands out among the nominees.

The judging panel, chaired by Richard Neville, the Mitchell librarian at the State Library of NSW, includes literary scholars Jumana Bayeh and Mridula Nath Chakraborty, book critic James Ley, and author Hsu-Ming Teo. They remarked on the ambitious scope and variety of the novels, describing this year as “an extraordinary year” for the award.

“The writers have distinguished themselves with their experimentation with techniques, forms, and narrative styles,” the judges noted. “The six books on the shortlist hold a mirror to the expressions and excitements of contemporary Australian writing.”

Each short-listed author will receive $5,000, while the winner, to be announced on August 1, will receive $60,000.

The award was established in 1954 by the estate of Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin, the author of My Brilliant Career.

Last year’s award went to Shankari Chandran for Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens.