Waverley Council Announces 2024 Finalists for $40,000 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award

17 September 2024 | Media Release

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Waverley Council is thrilled to announce the six shortlisted finalists for this years $40,000 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award, an annual celebration of the very best of Australian research-based literature.

The 2024 shortlisted books are Reaching Through Time by Shauna Bostock (QLD), Book of Life by Deborah Conway (VIC), Donald Horne by Ryan Cropp (ACT), Wifedom by Anna Funder (NSW), Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko (NSW), and What the Trees See by Dave Witty (VIC).

Each of the six finalists will receive the $1500 Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize and are eligible for the $4,000 Nib People’s Choice Prize, awarded by popular vote.

Now in its 23rd year, the Nib Literary Award is one of Australia’s most high-profile and valuable book prizes. Once the Nib Literary Award is presented in November, the total prize money presented to Australian authors since the Awards inception will total $540,000. Nominations are judged on literary merit, research, readability, and value to the community with previous winners including celebrated historians Alison Bashford and Claire Wright, biologist Tim Low, novelists Helen Garner and Delia Falconer, and journalist Gideon Haigh.

This year’s finalists were chosen from over 175 submissions with a diverse array of subject matters and genres on display.

The award judges, poet Jamie Grant, publisher Julia Carlomagno and writer Angela Meyer said: “We were impressed with the breadth and calibre of this year's entries, which ranged across genres, forms and styles. The six chosen books cast a lens both global and intimate, exploring issues of gender, class, nation and family, and emphasising the importance of community. We congratulate all the shortlisted authors.”

Voting for the Nib People’s Choice Awards opens on Tuesday 17th September at 9am and must close on 17th October, so get in quick to support your favourite writer: https://haveyoursay.waverley.nsw.gov.au/nib-peoples-choice-prize

Recipients of the People’s Choice Prize and the $40,000 Mark & Evette Nib Literary Award will be announced at a public event on Wednesday 27th November 2024 at Bondi Pavillion Theatre at Bondi Beach.

For more information, please visit https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/nib

The Mark & Evette Moran Nib Literary Award is administered by Waverley Council with the generous support of Principal Sponsors Mark and Evette Moran, and the ongoing commitment of community partner Gertrude and Alice Bookshop and Café.

2024 SHORTLIST PRIZE WINNERS

  • Shauna Bostock, Reaching Through Time (Allen & Unwin) QLD
  • Deborah Conway, Book of Life (Allen & Unwin) VIC
  • Ryan Cropp, Donald Horne (La Trobe University Press) ACT
  • Anna Funder, Wifedom (Hamish Hamilton) NSW
  • Melissa Lucashenko, Edenglassie (UQP) NSW
  • Dave Witty, What the Trees See (Monash University Publishing) VIC

For Media Enquiries, please contact: Kabuku Public Relations Hayley Goodlich | hayley@kabukupr.com.au | 0434 442 997.

For Nib Award enquiries, please contact: nibaward@waverley.nsw.gov.au.