Miles Franklin Shortlist 2022

 The 2022 Miles Franklin Award shortlist was announced this week, made up of the following works:

• Michal Mohammed Ahmed - The Other Half of You
• Michelle de Krester - Scary Monsters 
• Jennifer Down - Bodies of Light
• Alice Pung - One Hundred Days
• Michael Winkler - Grimmish

Richard Neville, Chair of the judging panel, said of the shortlist:

 “The outstanding feature of this year's Miles Franklin shortlist is the range of dynamic and diverse voices that address the experience of pain, intergenerational trauma and intergenerational dialogue with compassion, exceptional craft and rigorous unsentimentality."

There hasn't been much time between longlist and shortlist so I have not read any of these titles.  I did attempt to read the longlisted Grimmish, which I found interesting though difficult to enjoy. Unfortunately had to return it to the library unfinished as I ran out of time so not sure if I will complete that. 

When I predicted which titles would make the cut, I had expected Larissa Behrent, Jennifer Down, Michelle de Krester, John Hughes, Claire Thomas and Christos Tsiolkas to make the shortlist - so I only guessed right on two of the titles. I had not predicted the controversy surrounding novelist John Hughes and allegations of plagiarism, which saw his novel pulled from eligibility.

Having seen Jennifer Down at the Sydney Writers Festival talk about her novel Bodies of Light, I am going to root for this to win. But I also like the idea of Grimmish taking out the prize for its unique form and creativity. 

The Winner of the $60,000 prize will be revealed on 20 July 2022.