The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists

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 writers named as "Best Young Australian Novelist" each year varies. Ten were named in the award's first year.

Past winners

2024^[3]

André Dao, Anam
Emily O'Grady, Feast
John Morrissey, Firelight

2023^[4]

Jay Carmichael, Marlo
Katerina Gibson, Women I Know
George Haddad, Losing Face

2022^[5]

Ella Baxter, New Animal
Michael Burrows, Where the Line Breaks
Diana Reid, Love and Virtue

2021^[6]

Vivian Pham, The Coconut Children
Jessie Tu, A Lonely Girl Is a Dangerous Thing
K. M. (Kate) Kruimink, Treacherous Country

2020^[7]

Alice Bishop, A Constant Hum
Joey Bui, Lucky Ticket
Josephine Rowe, Here Until August

2019^[8]

Robbie Arnott, Flames
Tom Lee, Coach Fitz
Jamie Marina Lau, Pink Mountain on Locust Island
Ruby J. Murray, The Biographer's Lover

2018^[9]

Jennifer Down, Pulse Points
Marija Pericic, The Lost Pages
Shaun Prescott, The Town
Pip Smith, Half Wild

2017^[10]

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

^ "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.
^ Kembrey, Melanie (17 May 2024). "Three writers named 2024 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^ "Carmichael, Gibson, Haddad named SMH Best Young Australian Novelists 2023". Books+Publishing. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^ 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.

[B+P2017-1] "Four writers named 2017 'SMH' Best Young Australian Novelists". Books + Publishing. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.

[SMH2016-2] ^ ^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.

[3] Kembrey, Melanie (17 May 2024). "Three writers named 2024 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

[4] "Carmichael, Gibson, Haddad named SMH Best Young Australian Novelists 2023". Books+Publishing. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

[5] Moran, Robert (29 April 2022). "Sex, love and footnotes: Meet the 2022 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2022.

[6] Steger, Jason (23 April 2021). "'We were unanimous': three debut authors named best young Australian novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[7] "Bishop, Bui, Rowe named SMH 2020 Best Young Aus Novelists". Books+Publishing. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.

[8] "Four writers named 2019 'SMH' Best Young Australian Novelists". Books+Publishing. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

[9] 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.

[10] Morris, Linda (28 May 2017). "The 2017 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]