I am absolutely thrilled to find that Elizabeth Macarthur has been longlisted for the 2019 CHASS Australia Book Prize. And she’s in some pretty amazing company.

The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) has announced the longlist for its prestigious 2019 Australia Prize for a Book (non-fiction). The Book Prize will be awarded to an Australian citizen or permanent resident whose nonfiction book, published between 1 January and 31 December 2018, contributes most to Australian cultural and intellectual life.

The longlisted titles, from an entry field of 130 print and e-books in the non-fiction category are:
Fair Share: Competing Claims and Australia’s Economic Future, by Stephen Bell and Michael Keating and published by Melbourne University Publishing
Europe: A Natural History, by Tim Flannery and published by Text Publishing
The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the early colony, 1788 – 1817, by Stephen Gapps and published by NewSouth Books
Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia, by Billy Griffiths and published by Black Inc.
The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire, by Chloe Hooper and published by Penguin Books Australia
The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History, by Meredith Lake and published by NewSouth Books
Eggshell Skull, by Bri Lee and published by Allen & Unwin
Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World, by Michelle Scott Tucker and published by Text Publishing
You Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World, by Clare Wright and published by Text Publishing

CHASS will announce the shortlist of three titles in early October. The winner of the 2019 CHASS Australia Prize for a Book will receive a cash prize of $3,500. The Prize, sponsored by Routledge, will be presented at the 2019 CHASS Australia Prizes Ceremony on 30 October in Melbourne.

The judges for the Book prize are Colin Steele FAHA, Emeritus Fellow, Australian National University (Chair); Professor Trevor Burnard, The University of Melbourne; Dr Katherine Ellinghaus, La Trobe University; Ian Howie, RMIT University; and Professor Joseph M. Siracusa, RMIT University and President, CHASS.