0f956054-3c84-4d9f-b393-adb7fb8ea62f-620x372Emily Bitto, for her debut novel The Strays.

Well.  That goes straight to the TBR pile then.

Bitto collects $50,000 for her win – congratulations!

I’ve heard nothing but praise for all the shortlisted books, so my sincere congratulations to all of this year’s writers:

  • Christine Kenneally, The Invisible History of the Human Race
  • Sophie Laguna, The Eye of the Sheep
  • Ellen Van Neervan, Heat and Light
  • Maxine Beneba Clarke, Foreign Soil
  • Joan London, The Golden Age

For the background stories behind each shortlisted book, try this piece, from The Guardian