2010 Victorian Premiers Shortlists

Super shortlist for the Vance Palmer with the cream of Australian writers in the running. Excellent selection of work in the sweeping-up the Indigenous Writing Prize shortlist too.

The Prize for Indigenous Writing (AU$15,000)

| |

* Legacy by Larissa Behrendt
* Ten Hail Marys by Kate Howarth
* Hey Mum, What's a Half-Caste? by Lorraine McGee-Sippel 

| | ||

The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction ($30,000)

* Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
* The Bath Fugues by Brian Castro,
* Summertime by J.M. Coetzee
* Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
* Truth by Peter Temple

The Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction ($30,000)

| | | |

* Popeye Never Told You: Childhood Memories of the War by Rodney Hall
* A Swindler's Progress: Nobles and Convicts in the Age of Liberty by Kirsten McKenzie
* Captain Cook Was Here by Maria Nugent
* Otherland: A Journey With My Daughter by Maria Tumarkin
* Reading by Moonlight: How Books Saved a Life by Brenda Walker

The Young Adult Fiction Prize ($15,000)

| |

* Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar
* Swerve by Phillip Gwynne
* Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams

The CJ Dennis Prize for Poetry ($15,000)

* Beneath Our Armour by Peter Bakowski
* Possession by Anna Kerdijk Nicholson
* The Adoption Order by Ian McBryde

The Louis Esson Prize for Drama ($15,000)

* Moth by Declan Greene
* And No More Shall We Part by Tom Holloway
* Furious Mattress by Melissa Reeves

The Alfred Deakin Prize for an Essay Advancing Public Debate ($15,000)

* 'Patriot Acts' by Waleed Aly, The Monthly
* 'Stupid Money' by Gideon Haigh, Griffith Review 25: After The Crisis
* 'Seeing Truganini' by David Hansen, Australian Book Review

The Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer ($15,000)

* Winsome of Rangoon by Michelle Aung Thin
* House of Sticks by Peggy Frew
* Cambodia Darkness and Light by Andrew Nette

The John Curtin Prize for Journalism ($15,000)

* 'Shutting Down Sharleen' by Eurydice Aroney and Tom Morton, Hindsight, ABC Radio National
* 'Who Killed Mr Ward?' by Janine Cohen and Liz Jackson, Four Corners, ABC Television
* Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull by Annabel Crabb, Quarterly Essay

The Prize for First Book of History ($15,000)

* From Superwoman to Domestic Goddesses: the Rise and Fall of Feminism by Natasha Campo
* Becoming African Americans: Black Public Life in Harlem, 1919-1939 by Clare Corbould
* Rethinking Antisemitism in Nineteenth-Century France by Julie Kalman

2010 Sisters in Crime Davitt Award Winners

This year 40 crime books competed for the Davitt Awards which were set up by Sisters in Crime in 2001 to celebrate the achievements of Australian women crime writers. Tartan Noir crime ‘queen’ Val McDermid presented the awards before a crowd of 140 at the Celtic Club in Melbourne, Australia.


Brisbane writer Marianne Delacourt received the Davitt (Adult Fiction) for her debut crime novel for Sharp Shooter; Justine Larbalestier won the Davitt (Children’s & Young Adult Fiction ) for Liar; Sydney journalists Candace Sutton and Ellen Connolly shared the Davitt (True Crime) for Lady Killer while prolific Melbourne author, Kerry Greenwood was awarded the Davitt’s (Readers’ Choice), as voted by the 500 members of Sisters in Crime, for Forbidden Fruit.


For the fourth year running, the awards were sponsored by the Victoria Police Museum.
Sisters in Crime spokesperson, Tanya King-Carmichael, said that the judges this year were particularly impressed by the children’s and young adult crime books:


2010 Adult Fiction Marianne Delacourt for Sharp Shooter
Tara Sharp should be just another unemployable, twenty-something, ex-private school girl, but she has the gift - or curse as she sees it - of reading people's auras. The troubleis, auras sometimes tell you things about people they don't want you to know. When a family friend recommends Mr Hara's Paralanguage School, Tara decides to give it a whirl, and graduates with flying colours. So when Mr Hara picks up passes on a job for a hotshot lawyer, she jumps at the chance despite some of his less-than-salubrious clients. More


2100 Davitt Children’s & Young Adult Fiction Justine Larbalestier for Liar Micah Wilkins is a liar. But when her boyfriend, Zach, dies under brutal circumstances, the shock might be enough to set her straight. Or maybe not. Especially when lying comes as naturally to her as breathing. Was Micah dating Zach? Did they kiss? Did she see him the night he died? And is she really hiding a family secret? Where does the actual truth lie? Liar is a breathtaking roller-coaster read that will have you up all night, desperately seeking for something true. More


Candace Sutton and Ellen Connolly shared the Davitt True Crime for Lady Killer: How Conman Bruce Burrell Kidnapped and Killed Rich Women for Their Money
In May 1997, mother-of-three Kerry Whelan disappears on the way to a beautician's appointment. Twenty-four hours later her husband receives a ransom letter: There will be no second chances. Follow all instructions or your wife will die.The case sparked Australia's greatest police manhunt, with detectives locked into a deadly waiting game for the kidnapper to make contact. As time ticked away and hopes for Kerry began to fade, a surprising suspect emerged. Bruce Allan Burrell was a seemingly respectable advertising executive living the good life with a coterie of well-to-do friends, including the Whelans. But when police delved into his background, Burrell's glamorous lifestyle proved to be a sham: in fact he was a thief and conman with a far more sinister secret. More


Davitt’s (Readers’ Choice), as voted by the 500 members of Sisters in Crime, Kerry Greenwood for Forbidden Fruit. Corinna Chapman, owner of Earthly Delights, detests Christmas. She's dreaming of quiet, air-conditioned comfort but instead finds herself dealing with a rose-loving donkey named Serena, a maniacal mother with staring eyes, a distracted assistant searching for the perfect muffin recipe, her friend the fearless witch Meroe, and the luscious Daniel, with whom she'd like to spend a lot more time. But Daniel is on the hunt to find two young runaways, Brigid and Manny. This simple Romeo-and-Juliet romance, though, is not as straightforward as it seems and they will go a long way to ensure they're not found. More


2010 Judges -The judging panel comprised Dr Shelley Robertson (Sisters in Crime member, forensic pathologist), Rosi Tovey (former owner of Chronicles Bookshop in St Kilda), Dr Sue Turnbull (Head of Media Studies, La Trobe University, Sisters in Crime national co-convenor andSydney Morning Herald crime columnist), Jacqui Horwood and Tanya King-Carmichael (both Sisters in Crime national co-convenors).

Ned Kelly Crime Book Awards - Pitcairn: Paradise Lost by Kathy Marks

The Ned Kelly Awards (named for the famous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to reward excellence in the field of crime writing within Australia.

The genre of crime writing has long been popular, but it wasn't until the early 1990's that a local growth of writing within the genre occurred in Australia. By the middle of the decade support for the field had grown sufficiently that it was decided to establish the Ned Kelly Awards.

The awards are effectionately referred to as 'The Neddies' within the community. Winners are announced during the Melbourne Writers' Festival each year. 


Tragic maintains a list of historic winners at Literary Awards Australia.


True Crime

| |

• WINNER: Pitcairn: Paradise Lost by Kathy Marks
• Crooks Like Us by Peter Doyle
• Medical Murder by Robert M. Kaplan

Best First Fiction

| |

• WINNER: King of the Cross by Mark Dapin
• Document Z by Andrew Croome
• Death and the Running Patterer by Robin Adair

Best Fiction

| | |

• WINNER: Wyatt by Gary Disher
• The Black Russian by Lenny Bartulin
• Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham

SD Harvey Short Story

• WINNER: 'Leaving the Fountainhead' by Zane Lovitt
• 'The Fountain of Justice' by Lucy Sussex
• 'The Travertine Fountain' by Robert Goodman

Lifetime Achievement Award - Peter Doyle

Politics of Suffering Wins John Button Prize

The John Button Prize seeks to enhance the quality of political writing and debate in Australia. It will be presented at this year's Melbourne Writers Festival, on the occasion of the inaugural John Button Oration. It is managed by the John Button Literary Foundation, and funded by public donation. The Foundation is still seeking significant donors to ensure that the Prize is presented in perpetuity.

The Prize, created in memory of the late Industry Minister, Senator and writer, awards $20,000 to the best piece of non-fiction writing on politics or public policy in the previous 12 months.

Last years inaugural  winner was Chloe Hooper's The Tall Man -- Death and Life on Palm Island (Penguin) about Cameron Doomadgee, a 36-year-old resident of Palm Island, who was arrested for swearing at a white police officer. Within 45 minutes he was dead. The main suspect was well respected Senior Sergeant Christopher Hurley. This book, which is well worth reading is about what happened, the trial,and the Aboriginal myths around the case. 

Followng on with the theme of indigenous issues the 2010 prize has gone to  

Peter Sutton for  The Politics of Suffering.

In this groundbreaking book, Sutton asks why, after three decades of liberal thinking, has the suffering and grief in so many Aboriginal communities become worse? The picture Sutton presents is tragic. He marshals shocking evidence against the failures of the past, and argues provocatively that three decades of liberal consensus on Aboriginal issues has collapsed. He combines clear-eyed, original observation with deep emotional engagement. The Politics of Suffering cuts through the cant and offers fresh insight and hope for a new era in Indigenous politics.

2010 Other Shortlisted

| |

Paul Kelly, March of Patriots
Noel Pearson, Radical Hope
Laura Tingle, Tensions escalate over Rudd’s kitchen cabinet

2010 Judges
The Hon Kevin Rudd is patron of the Prize, and the winner will be chosen by a panel of judges comprising:

• Bob Carr, former New South Wales Premier;
• J.M.Coetzee, Nobel-Prize winning novelist and twice winner of the Booker Prize;
• Morag Fraser (chair), Miles Franklin Award judge and former Eureka Street editor;
• Julian Leeser, Executive Director of the Menzies Research Centre;
• Kerry O'Brien, 7.30 Report presenter;
• Sally Warhaft, anthropologist and former editor of The Monthly magazine  

Tragic 

2010 Winner: Peter Sutton, The Politics of Suffering

In this groundbreaking book, Sutton asks why, after three decades of liberal thinking, has the suffering and grief in so many Aboriginal communities become worse? The picture Sutton presents is tragic. He marshals shocking evidence against the failures of the past, and argues provocatively that three decades of liberal consensus on Aboriginal issues has collapsed. He combines clear-eyed, original observation with deep emotional engagement. The Politics of Suffering cuts through the cant and offers fresh insight and hope for a new era in Indigenous politics.

2010 Other Shortlisted

| |

Paul Kelly, March of Patriots
Noel Pearson, Radical Hope
Laura Tingle, Tensions escalate over Rudd’s kitchen cabinet

2010 Judges
The Hon Kevin Rudd is patron of the Prize, and the winner will be chosen by a panel of judges comprising:

• Bob Carr, former New South Wales Premier;
• J.M.Coetzee, Nobel-Prize winning novelist and twice winner of the Booker Prize;
• Morag Fraser (chair), Miles Franklin Award judge and former Eureka Street editor;
• Julian Leeser, Executive Director of the Menzies Research Centre;
• Kerry O'Brien, 7.30 Report presenter;
• Sally Warhaft, anthropologist and former editor of The Monthly magazine  

More details about  the prize at Literary Awards Australia.

World Fantasy Award Nominees - Science Fantasy Book Awards

The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy. Since 1975, when they were first awarded, they have been handed out at the World Fantasy Convention.

The book awards awards are considered among the most prestigious in the speculative fiction genre, and can be awarded to any work falling within the realm of fantasy. Winners are chosen from groups of nominees (generally five or six per category), also selected largely by the judges, with two picked by members of the annual WFC. Categories include, or have included: Novel; Novella (10,001 to 40,000 words); Short Fiction (under 10,000 words);Anthology Collection; Artist. Special Awards include: the Convention Award; Life Achievement; Special Award: Professional; Special Award: Non-Professional.

The 2010 nominees have been posted -they are for works published in 2009.

The awards will be presented in Columbus OH, October 28-31, 2010.  

Tragic covers the awards at Book Awards US which just focuses on US based awards.

Nominees are:

Anthology

• Poe,  Ellen Datlow, ed. (Solaris)
• Songs of The Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Subterranean/Voyager)
• Exotic Gothic 3: Strange Visitations, Danel Olson, ed. (Ash-Tree)
• Eclipse Three, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade)
• American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny: From Poe to the Pulps/From the 1940s to Now, Peter Straub, ed. (Library of America)
• The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology, Gordon Van Gelder, ed. (Tachyon)

Collection

• We Never Talk About My Brother, Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon)
• Fugue State, Brian Evenson (Coffee House)
• There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya (Penguin)
• Northwest Passages, Barbara Roden (Prime)
• Everland and Other Stories, Paul Witcover (PS)
• The Very Best of Gene Wolfe/The Best of Gene Wolfe, Gene Wolfe (PS /Tor) 

Novel

• Blood of Ambrose, James Enge (Pyr)
• The Red Tree, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
• The City & The City, China Miéville (Macmillan UK/ Del Rey)
• Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland)
• In Great Waters, Kit Whitfield (Jonathan Cape UK/Del Rey)

Novella

• The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, Kage Baker (Subterranean)
• “I Needs Must Part, the Policeman Said”, Richard Bowes (F&SF 12/09)Eclipse 3: New Science Fiction and Fantasy
• “The Lion’s Den”, Steve Duffy (Nemonymous Nine: Cern Zoo)
• The Night Cache, Andy Duncan (PS)
• “Sea-Hearts”, Margo Lanagan (X6 )
• “Everland”, Paul Witcover (Everland and Other Stories)

Short Story

• “The Pelican Bar”, Karen Joy Fowler (Eclipse Three)
• “A Journal of Certain Events of Scientific Interest from the First Survey Voyage of the Southern Waters by HMS Ocelot, As Observed by Professor Thaddeus Boswell, DPhil, MSc, or, A Lullaby”, Helen Keeble (Strange Horizons 6/09)
• “Singing on a Star”, Ellen Klages (Firebirds Soaring)
• “The Persistence of Memory, or This Space for Sale”, Paul Park (Postscripts 20/21: Edison’s Frankenstein )
• “In Hiding”, R.B. Russell (Putting the Pieces in Place)
• “Light on the Water”, Genevieve Valentine (Fantasy 10/09)

Artist

• John Jude Palencar
• John Picacio
• Charles Vess
• Jason Zerrillo
• Sam Weber

Special Award – Professional

• Peter & Nicky Crowther for PS Publishing
• Ellen Datlow for editing anthologies
• Hayao Miyazaki for Ponyo
• Barbara & Christopher Roden for Ash-Tree Press
• Jonathan Strahan for editing anthologies
• Jacob & Rina Weisman for Tachyon Publications

Special Award – Non-Professional

• John Berlyne for Powers: Secret Histories
• Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, & Sean Wallace for Clarkesworld
• Susan Marie Groppi for Strange Horizons
• John Klima for Electric Velocipede
• Bob Colby, B. Diane Martin, David Shaw, and Eric M. Van for Readercon
• Ray Russell & Rosalie Parker for Tartarus Press