The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award.The Miles Franklin Literary Award , Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Australia). As of 2025, the award is valued at A$60,000.About the award , official website. __TOC__ Winners, old dating convention The prize originally took its date from the year in which eligible novels were published, ignoring the fact that it was not awarded until the following year. 1957–1959 Year Author Title PublisherRef 1957 Patrick White Voss Eyre and Spottiswoode 1958 Randolph Stow To the Islands Macdonald 1959 Vance Palmer The Big Fellow Angus and Robertson
1960–1969 Year Author Title PublisherRef 1960 Elizabeth O'Conner The Irishman Angus and Robertson 1961 Patrick White Riders in the Chariot Eyre and Spottiswoode 1962 Thea Astley The Well Dressed Explorer Angus and Robertson George TurnerThe Cupboard Under the StairsCassell 1963 Sumner Locke Elliott Careful, He Might Hear You Harper and Row 1964 George Johnston My Brother Jack Collins 1965 Thea Astley The Slow Natives Angus and Robertson 1966 Peter Mathers Trap Cassell 1967 Thomas Keneally Bring Larks and Heroes Cassell 1968 Thomas Keneally Three Cheers for the Paraclete Angus and Robertson 1969 George Johnston Clean Straw for Nothing Collins
1970–1979 Year Author Title PublisherRef 1970 Dal Stivens A Horse of Air Angus and Robertson 1971 David Ireland The Unknown Industrial Prisoner Angus and Robertson 1972 Thea Astley The Acolyte Angus and Robertson 1973Award withheld after the judges decided that none of the novels entered was good enough 1974 Ronald McKie The Mango Tree Collins 1975 Xavier Herbert Poor Fellow My Country Fontana Books 1976 David Ireland The Glass Canoe Macmillan 1977 Ruth Park Swords and Crowns and Rings Nelson Books 1978 Jessica Anderson Tirra Lirra by the River Macmillan 1979 David Ireland A Woman of the Future Penguin Books
1980–1987 Year Author Title PublisherRef 1980 Jessica Anderson The Impersonators Macmillan 1981 Peter Carey Bliss Faber and Faber 1982 Rodney Hall Just Relations Penguin Books 1983Award withheld after the judges decided that none of the novels entered was good enough 1984 Tim Winton Shallows Allen and Unwin 1985 Christopher Koch The Doubleman Chatto and Windus 1986 Elizabeth Jolley The Well Viking Press 1987 Glenda Adams Dancing on Coral Viking Press
Winners, new dating convention The prize is still for the best novel published during the preceding year, but now bears the date of the year in which it is awarded. While the change meant there was no prize called "1988", there is no break in the annual series.In his essay on the award, Nicholas Birns mistakenly assumes that the absence of a "1988" prize means that a year was skipped, and even attempts to explain why this might have happened. See Nicholas Birns, "The Fortunes of the Miles Franklin: Australian Life in All Its Phases", in David Carter (ed.), The Cambridge History of the Australian Novel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), p. 621. Consulted at the Wikipedia Library. The award for novels published in 1987 was announced on 10 May 1988 as the "1987" prize (won by Glenda Adams),The Canberra Times, 11 May 1988. and the award for novels published in 1988 was announced on 25 July 1989 as the "1989" prize (won by Peter Carey).The Canberra Times, 26 July 1989.
1989 Year Author Title PublisherRef 1989 Peter Carey Oscar and Lucinda University of Queensland Press
1990–1999 Year Author Title PublisherRef 1990 Tom Flood Oceana Fine Allen and Unwin 1991 David Malouf The Great World Chatto and Windus 1992 Tim Winton Cloudstreet Penguin Books 1993 Alex Miller The Ancestor Game Penguin Books 1994 Rodney Hall The Grisly Wife Macmillan 1995 Helen Demidenko The Hand That Signed the Paper Allen and Unwin 1996 Christopher Koch Highways to a War Heinemann 1997 David Foster The Glade Within the Grove Vintage 1998 Peter Carey Jack Maggs University of Queensland Press 1999 Murray Bail Eucalyptus Random House
2000–2009 Year Author Title PublisherRef 2000 Thea Astley Drylands Penguin Books Kim ScottBenangFremantle Press 2001 Frank Moorhouse Dark Palace Knopf 2002 Tim Winton Dirt Music Picador 2003 Alex Miller Journey to the Stone Country Allen and Unwin 2004 Shirley Hazzard The Great Fire Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2005 Andrew McGahan The White Earth Allen and Unwin 2006 Roger McDonald The Ballad of Desmond Kale Vintage 2007 Alexis Wright Carpentaria Giramondo 2008 Steven Carroll The Time We Have Taken Fourth Estate 2009 Tim Winton Breath Hamish Hamilton
2010–2019 Year Author Title PublisherRef 2010 Peter Temple Truth Text Publishing 2011 Kim Scott That Deadman Dance Picador 2012 Anna Funder All That I Am Hamish Hamilton 2013 Michelle de Kretser Questions of Travel Allen and Unwin 2014 Evie Wyld All the Birds, Singing Random House 2015 Sofie Laguna The Eye of the Sheep Allen and Unwin 2016 A. S. Patrić Black Rock White City Transit Lounge 2017 Josephine Wilson Extinctions UWA Publishing 2018 Michelle de Kretser The Life to Come Allen and Unwin2019Melissa LucashenkoToo Much LipUniversity of Queensland Press
2020– Year Author Title PublisherRef 2020 Tara June Winch The Yield Penguin Random House 2021 Amanda Lohrey The Labyrinth Text Publishing 2022 Jennifer Down Bodies of Light Text Publishing 2023Shankari ChandranChai Time at Cinnamon GardensUltimo Press2024Alexis WrightPraiseworthyGiramondo2025Siang LuGhost CitiesUniversity of Queensland Press2026Omar MusaFiercelandPenguin Random House
Controversies Author Frank Moorhouse was disqualified from consideration for his novel Grand Days because the story was set in Europe during the 1920s and was not sufficiently Australian.
1995 winner Helen Darville, also known as Helen Demidenko and Helen Dale, won for The Hand That Signed the Paper and sparked a debate about authenticity in Australian literature. Darville claimed to be of Ukrainian descent and said it was fiction based on family history. Writer David Marr, who presented the award to her, said that revelations about her true background did not "alter a single thing about the quality of the story, it knocks completely out of the water her answers to critics who said it was not historically accurate, that she knows because of direct family experience, which appears to be complete bull----."
Even before the hoax was revealed, Darville’s book was considered anti-Semitic and justified the genocide of Jewish people. It was also later revealed that she plagiarised from multiple sources.
In 2004, three judges resigned due to what they viewed as the commodification of the awards.
2022 longlisted writer John Hughes was accused of plagiarising significant sections of his 2021 book The Dogs from Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich's nonfiction book The Unwomanly Face of War. Nearly 60 similarities and identical sentences were found in a comparison of Hughes' novel and the English version of Alexievich's book. The Guardian newspaper also found similarities between incidents described in the books, including the central scene from which The Dogs takes its title. Further investigation found other examples of plagiarism in the novel and that Hughes copied sections of classic texts including The Great Gatsby and Anna Karenina without acknowledging the original source. The book was subsequently withdrawn from competition.
The Stella Prize was created in 2013 as a reaction to the supposed under-representation of women as winners of literary prizes, in particular the 2011 Miles Franklin Award shortlist. However, since 2013, only three men have won the Miles Franklin Award.
Repeat winners
(4) Thea Astley: 1962, 1965, 1972, 2000 (4) Tim Winton: 1984, 1992, 2002, 2009 (3) Peter Carey: 1981, 1989, 1998 (3) David Ireland: 1971, 1976, 1979 (2) Jessica Anderson: 1978, 1980 (2) Rodney Hall: 1982, 1994 (2) Thomas Keneally: 1967, 1968 (2) Michelle de Kretser: 2013, 2018 (2) George Johnston: 1964, 1969 (2) Christopher Koch: 1985, 1996 (2) Alex Miller: 1993, 2003 (2) Kim Scott: 2000, 2011 (2) Patrick White: 1957, 1961 (2) Alexis Wright: 2007, 2024
Nominated works
Shortlisted titles are only shown for the years 1987 onwards. No record has yet been found for any shortlists being released prior to that year. Longlisted titles are only shown for the years 2005 onwards. That was the first year that such a list was released by the judging panel. The number of works included on the longlist varies from year to year.
1980s In 1989, the date by which the prize is identified changed from the year of publication to the year of announcement. While there was no award called "1988", there is no break in the annual series (see above). +Miles Franklin Award honorees (1987–1989)YearAuthorTitleResult1987for novels published in 1987,announced in 1988 Dancing on Coral WinnerHolden's PerformanceShortlistTruant StateBloodfatherHome Is the Sailor1989for novels published in 1988,announced in 1989 Oscar and Lucinda Winner Captivity CaptiveShortlistOut of the Line of FireBuilding on SandCharades
1990s +Miles Franklin Award honorees (1990–1999)YearAuthorTitleResult1990 Oceana Fine WinnerCompany of ImagesShortlistAvenue of Eternal PeaceI for IsobelMaestroSmyrna1991 WinnerLonglegShortlistReaching Tin RiverTaking Shelter1992 Cloudstreet WinnerDouble-WolfShortlistOur SunshineThe Second BridegroomTo the Burning City1993 WinnerAfter ChinaShortlistCosmo CosmolinoShearers' MotelVanishing Points1994 WinnerRemembering BabylonShortlistWater Man1995 WinnerShortlist Dark PlacesDeath of a River Guide1996 Highways to a War WinnerBracelet HoneymyrtleShortlistCamille's Bread1997 WinnerBefore I WakeShortlistNight LettersOyster1998 Jack Maggs WinnerLovesongShortlistNightpicturesOne for the MasterWrack1999 Eucalyptus WinnerMr Darwin's ShooterShortlistRed ShoesThree Dollars
2000s +Miles Franklin Award winners 2000–2009YearAuthorTitleResult2000DrylandsWinnerBenangToo Many MenShortlistWhat a Piece of WorkIsobel on the Way to the Corner Shop2001Dark PalaceWinnerTrue History of the Kelly GangShortlistThe CompanyEnglish PassengersConditions of FaithLife after George2002Dirt MusicWinnerShortlistGould's Book of FishGilgamesh2003Journey to the Stone CountryWinnerShortlistOf a BoyMoral HazardWild Surmise2004WinnerMy Life as a FakeShortlistElizabeth CostelloThree Dog NightSlow WaterSeven Types of Ambiguity2005WinnerSalt RainShortlistSixty LightsBackwatersLonglistI Have Kissed Your Lips2006WinnerEveryman's Rules for Scientific LivingShortlistKnittingLonglistProchownik's DreamSunnysideDead Europe2007CarpentariaWinnerTheft: A Love StoryShortlistDreams of SpeakingCarelessSilent PartsLonglistBeyond the Break2008WinnerShortlistLove Without HopeSorryLandscape of FarewellOrpheus LostLonglistSecrets of the Sea2009BreathWinnerIceShortlistWantingAdditionLonglistOne Foot WrongFugitive Blue
2010s