The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists award was created in 1997 by the newspaper's literary editor, Susan Wyndham and is made annually. The awards recognise emerging writing talent, and are made to writers who are aged 35 years or younger when their book is first published.[1]
The award criteria were relaxed in 2009 to allow the inclusion of short story collections.[2] That year, Nam Le won the award with his short story collection, The Boat.
The judges change regularly, and the number of novelists named as "Best Young Australian Novelist" each year varies. Ten were named in the Award's first year.
Past winners edit
2022[3]
- Ella Baxter, New Animal
- Michael Burrows, Where the Line Breaks
- Diana Reid, Love and Virtue
2021[4]
- Vivian Pham, The Coconut Children
- Jessie Tu, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing
- K.M. (Kate) Kruimink, Treacherous Country
2020[5]
- Alice Bishop, A Constant Hum
- Joey Bui, Lucky Ticket
- Josephine Rowe, Here Until August
2019[6]
- Robbie Arnott, Flames
- Tom Lee, Coach Fitz
- Jamie Marina Lau, Pink Mountain on Locust Island
- Ruby J. Murray, The Biographer's Lover
2018[7]
- Jennifer Down, Pulse Points
- Marija Pericic, The Lost Pages
- Shaun Prescott, The Town
- Pip Smith, Half Wild
2017[8]
- Rajith Savandasa, Ruins
- Jennifer Down, The Magic Hour
- Julie Koh, Portable Curiosities
- Josephine Rowe, A Loving, Faithful Animal
2016[2]
- Murray Middleton, When There's Nowhere Left to Run
- Abigail Ulman, Hot Little Hands
2015[2]
- Michael Mohammed Ahmad, The Tribe
- Ellen van Neerven, Heat and Light
- Maxine Beneba Clarke, Foreign Soil
- Omar Musa, Here Come the Dogs
- Alice Pung, Laurinda
2014[2]
- Luke Carman, An Elegant Man
- Balli Kaur Jaswal, Inheritance
- Hannah Kent, Burial Rites
- Fiona McFarlane, The Night Guest
2013[2]
- Romy Ash, Floundering
- Paul D. Carter, Eleven Seasons
- Zane Lovitt, The Midnight Promise
- Emily Maguire, Fishing for Tigers
- Ruby J. Murray, Running Dogs
- Majok Tulba, Beneath the Darkening Sky
2012[2]
- Melanie Joosten, Berlin Syndrome
- Jennifer Mills, Gone
- Rohan Wilson, The Roving Party
2011[2]
- Lisa Lang, Utopian Man
- Gretchen Shirm, Having Cried Wolf
- Kristel Thornell, Night Street
2010[2]
- Kalinda Ashton, The Danger Game
- Andrew Croome, Document Z
- Emily Maguire, Smoke in the Room
- Craig Silvey, Jasper Jones
2009[2]
- Nam Le, The Boat
- Alice Nelson, The Last Sky
- Kevin Rabalais, The Landscape of Desire
- Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole
2008[2]
- Belinda Castles, The River Baptists
- Max Barry, Company
- Jessica Davidson, What Does Blue Feel Like?
- Jessica White, A Curious Intimacy
2007[2]
- Will Elliott, The Pilo Family Circus
- Tara June Winch, Swallow the Air
- Danielle Wood, Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls
2006[2]
- Stephanie Bishop, The Singing
- Leigh Redhead, Rubdown
- Tony Wilson, Players
- Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
2005[2]
- Nicholas Angel, Drown Them in the Sea
- Corrie Hosking, Ash Rain
- Andrew Humphreys, Wonderful
- Leigh Redhead, Peepshow
- Craig Silvey, Rhubarb
2004[2]
- M.J. Hyland, How the Light Gets In
- Louise Limerick, Dying for Cake
- Mardi McConnochie, The Snow Queen
- Nerida Newton, The Lambing Flat
- Matthew Reilly, Scarecrow
- Danielle Wood, The Alphabet of Light and Dark
2003[2]
- Emily Ballou, Father Lands
- Sonya Hartnett, Of a Boy
- Sarah Hay, Skins
- Chloe Hooper, A Child's Book of True Crime
2002[2]
- Tegan Bennett Daylight, What Falls Away
- Stephen Gray, The Artist Is a Thief
- Andrew Humphreys, The Weight of the Sun
- Irini Savvides, Willow Tree and Olive
2001[2]
- Sonya Hartnett, Thursday's Child
- Malcolm Knox, Summerland
- Hoa Pham, Vixen
2000[2]
- James Bradley, The Deep Field
- Julia Leigh, The Hunter
1999[2]
- Georgia Blain, Closed for Winter
- Bernard Cohen, Snowdome
- Raimondo Cortese, The Indestructible Corpse
- Lisa Merrifield, Mrs Feather and the Aesthetics of Survival
- Camilla Nelson, Perverse Acts
- Elliot Perlman, Three Dollars
1998[2]
- James Bradley, Wrack
- Bernard Cohen, The Blindman's Hat
- Luke Davies, Candy
- Delia Falconer, The Service of Clouds
- Anthony Macris, Capital: Volume One
- Clare Mendes, A Race Across Burning Soil
- David Snell, The Illustrated Family Doctor
- Emma Tom, Deadset
1997[2]
- Bernard Cohen, Tourism
- Matthew Condon, The Lulu Magnet
- Fotini Epanomitis, The Mule's Foal
- Catherine Ford, Dirt and Other Stories
- Andrew McGahan, 1988
- Fiona McGregor, Suck My Toes
- Gillian Mears, The Grass Sister
- Mandy Sayer, Mood Indigo]]
- Christos Tsiolkas, Loaded
- Beth Yahp, The Crocodile Fury
References edit
- ^ "Four writers named 2017 'SMH' Best Young Australian Novelists". Books + Publishing. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Wyndham, Susan (9 May 2016). "The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists Award turns 20". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ Moran, Robert (29 April 2022). "Sex, love and footnotes: Meet the 2022 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- ^ Steger, Jason (23 April 2021). "'We were unanimous': three debut authors named best young Australian novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "Bishop, Bui, Rowe named SMH 2020 Best Young Aus Novelists". Books+Publishing. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ "Four writers named 2019 'SMH' Best Young Australian Novelists". Books+Publishing. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ Steger, Jason (30 April 2018). "The 2018 Best Young Australian Novelists: Jennifer Down, Pip Smith and more". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ Morris, Linda (28 May 2017). "The 2017 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2018.