by Claudia Mirabello
Last month, I sat refreshing my computer eagerly waiting for the announcement of the Booker Prize longlist. As a devoted fiction reader, I love to see the titles chosen each year and am often exposed to new authors who I might not have discovered otherwise. This longlist caused extra excitement as I noticed among the authors one name I recognised fondly: Charlotte Wood. I had read Wood’s The Natural Way of Things as a teenager and adored it, and as such, I was thrilled to see her receive recognition from such a large international platform as the Booker. Wood’s inclusion in this longlist breaks an eight-year drought for Australian authors, none of whom have received a nomination since J.M. Coetzee in 2016 for The Schooldays of Jesus.
Wood’s nomination also comes only weeks after the splash that was on the New York Times list: The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. As a younger person (potentially) too attached to their phone, I spent the week of this list’s publication scrolling through Instagram seeing stylish graphics as people shared how many books from the list they had read, compared titles and lamented which books were missed altogether. The more I scrolled the more titles I saw, but none of them were Australian. Australian authors’ absence from this list, alongside the eight-year absence from the Booker, has made me question how much weight the Australian publishing industry should place on these awards when our authors aren’t receiving the recognition they deserve.
What’s so special about the Booker anyway?
The Booker is a prestigious UK-based literary award and arguably the most influential prize for fiction in the English language market. Receiving a Booker nomination generates publicity, increases prestige for both author and publisher and can have a substantial impact on book sales. This boost in sales is known as ‘The Booker Bounce’ and can be seen across the prize-winning titles. For example, in the initial week following their wins, Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other had a sales increase of 1340% and the 2024 winner, Prophet Song by David Lynch, saw a 1500% sales increase.
What’s wrong with Australian authors?
Short answer: nothing.
There are many incredible Australian authors published each year, several of whom are acknowledged in Australia’s more prominent literary prizes (The Stella Prize and The Miles Franklin Literary Award). However, when considering Australian authors’ situations internationally, elements other than the quality of the novel come into play. While we wish everything could depend purely on the strength of the language, narrative voice and other beguiling elements of fiction, it’s sadly not the case.
One consideration is the scale of the Australian industry compared to other English language markets. In 2023, the market size of the Australian publishing industry stood at $1.9 billion, compared to the UK industry at £7.1 billion (approximately 13.7 billion in AUD). American authors are also often highly represented on the Booker longlist, and the US market size was measured at $44.3 billion (AUD) in 2023. This difference in scale means that fewer Australian titles are up for consideration against works from larger areas of the English language market: the UK and the USA. Australian authors are small fish in a big pond.
Another consideration is the Commonwealth publishing model. In the case of the Booker Prize, novels are only eligible for nomination if published in the UK and Ireland. However, books initially published in Australia can have trouble selling rights to other countries in the Commonwealth, like the UK. Without publication into this territory, novels are unable to be considered at all.
Should we want the UK’s approval?
Historically, White Australia has desired approval from the UK. The ’99 referendum failed to create a republic, and recent discussions of another referendum to separate have been quashed. Still, attempts to atone for our past and create a more diverse and inclusive future in the publishing industry are occurring. For example, many Indigenous authors are being highlighted across Australia, and as such, the notion of searching for approval from England feels somewhat like a betrayal of these positive steps to feature previously neglected Indigenous voices.
This year, Waanyi author Alexis Wright made history as the first person to win both the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award for the same book, her 672-page novel Praiseworthy. This novel is imbued with questions about Aboriginal sovereignty, the ongoing effects of colonisation and Indigenous self-determination. Would a book so embedded in the United Kingdom’s history of colonisation ever get a fair shake at a UK-based literary prize? And, considering this history, should we be seeking the approval and appreciation of the UK at all?
While Australian literary awards may not rival the Booker in terms of international publicity potential, by investing in our own authors and continuing to support local talent, we should continue to grow both domestic and international interest in Australian voices and stories. The more energy we put into our own industry—to develop, strengthen and become more independent—the less we will have to rely on international awards that often overlook great works of Australian fiction.
Claudia Mirabello is a student at the University of Melbourne currently balancing her studies in publishing and communications, her job in live theatre and her desire to read everything ever written.
Cover image by GSP editor Jasmine Rusady, used with permission.
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