The Prime Minister's Literary Awards celebrate the contribution of Australian literature to the nation's cultural and intellectual life. The awards, held annually, recognise literature's importance to our national identity, community and economy.2010 shortlists announced
The 2010 Prime Minister's Literary Awards Fiction, Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and Children’s Fiction shortlists have been announced.
Nine children's fiction and seven young adult fiction works, as well as seven fiction and six non-fiction works have made the 2010 shortlist, selected from more than 320 entries.
Children's fiction
* Cicada Summer by Kate Constable
* The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and illustrator Andrew Joyner
* Just Macbeth by Andy Griffiths and illustrator Terry Denton
* Mr Chicken goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs
* Running with the Horses by Alison Lester
* Star Jumps by Lorraine Marwood
* Mannie and the Long Brave Day by Martine Murray and illustrator Sally Rippin
* Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children by Jen Storer
* Harry and Hopper by Margaret Wild and illustrator Freya Blackwood
Fiction
* Summertime by J. M. Coetzee
* The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster
* The Lakewoman by Alan Gould
* Dog Boy by Eva Hornung
* Ransom by David Malouf
* Lovesong by Alex Miller
* As the Earth turns Silver by Alison Wong
Non-fiction
* The Water Dreamers: The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent by Michael Cathcart
* Strange Places: A Memoir of Mental Illness by Will Elliott
* The Colony: A History of Early Sydney by Grace Karskens
* The Life and Death of Democracy by John Keane
* The Blue Plateau: A Landscape Memoir by Mark Tredinnick
* The Ghost at the Wedding by Shirley Walker
Young adult fiction
* Stolen by Lucy Christopher
* The Winds of Heaven by Judith Clarke
* Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God by Bill Condon
* The Museum of Mary Child by Cassandra Golds
* Swerve by Phillip Gwynne
* Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen
* Beatle meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams
More information here.
About Alison Wong's As the Earth Turns Silver
This title is winner of the Janet Frame Fiction Award 2009. It is the early 1900s and brothers Yung and Shun, immigrants from China, eke out a living as greengrocers in Wellington. The pair must support their families back home, but know they must adapt if they are to prosper in their adopted home. Meanwhile, Katherine McKechnie struggles to raise her rebellious son and her daughter following the death of her husband, Donald. One day, Katherine comes to Yung's shop and is touched by the Chinaman's unexpected generosity. Over time a clandestine relationship develops between the immigrant and the widow, a relationship Katherine's son Robbie cannot abide ...During the First World War, as young men are swept up on a tide of macho patriotism, Robbie takes his family's honour into his own hands. In doing so, he places his mother at the heart of a tragedy that will affect everyone and everything she holds dear. Powerful, moving and utterly unforgettable, "As the Earth Turns Silver" announces the arrival of a bold new voice in contemporary fiction.
About the Author
Alison Wong was born and raised in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, after her great grandparents on both sides migrated from China's Guangdong province in the 1890s. Her poetry collection, Cup, was shortlisted for the Best First Book for Poetry at the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. As the Earth Turns Silver is her first novel.
Buy the book here.
