AustLit
History
As well as the top prize of £1,000, the winner will have the opportunity to have their novella e-published by Mslexia. The award was inaugurated in 2019.
Latest Winners / Recipients
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Year: 2019
inaugural winner y
Joan Smokes
Manchester
:
Saraband
,
2019
19071758
2019
single work
novella
historical fiction
'She used to be someone else, but now she’s arrived in Vegas, where she can start again. It won’t do to let the past leak in. It’s the Sixties now. She’s going to become … Joan.
'She makes a list: Buy a new dress (fitted, floral). Dye her hair (dark). Curl it. Buy red lipstick. Buy cigarettes and a lighter, too: Joan, she decides, is a smoker.
'There’s no need to dwell on why she’s here, what went before. She is just moving forward, one foot in front of the other, becoming that new person. Joan.
'This city of flashing neon, casinos and shows is full of distractions. Finding a job will be quick and easy. Things to do. New people to meet. A clean sheet.
'She’s certainly not thinking about Jack, or … No. Not any more.
'Her new life starts right here, right now.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
