Is it too early to start talking about summer reading lists? We can but dream.
But, in any case, there is already a list ready and waiting for you - the shortlisted works in the 2024 ACT Book of the Year awards. And it's an eclectic mix.
This year's winning and highly-commended books were announced by Arts Minister Tara Cheyne on Tuesday in the light-filled Tuggeranong Library. (I'm a proud Tuggers resident and, shame to say, I had never been in this library, which boasts glorious views over Lake Tuggeranong. Will definitely return.)
It was a lovely ceremony. The pride and joy of both the shortlisted and winning authors were obvious. As the triumphant author Chris Hammer said, writing is a solitary concern, so when you can celebrate with your peers, it's something special.
Hammer, a former TV journalist ("I was sacked!" he said, gleefully), did the hard yards to get to this point of his page-turning crime thriller, The Seven, being named the 2024 ACT Book of the Year.
He also won the ACT Book of the Year in 2011 for his non-fiction book, The River. He was very proud of it , but it sold "nothing". The award gave him something perhaps more valuable - validation. Back then, he also applied and won a grant from the ACT government - about the equivalent of "six weeks at minimum wage". That gave him the time and space to write his first novel, Scrublands, which was a success. And, as he said, he was off.
(Scrublands was made into a television series by Australian company Easy Tiger Productions. You can catch it on Stan. Production is now under way in Western Australia on the next series, based on Hammer's second novel, Silver.)
One book I'm definitely looking forward to diving into is Untethered, by Dunlop public servant Ayesha Inoon. It's about a young woman who enters an arranged marriage in Sri Lanka and then migrates to Australia, hoping for more freedom, and working to find her place in her new country. Partially based on Inoon's own experiences, Untethered has lots of Canberra references, which I can't wait to explore.
I'm also planning to give my 10-year-old son a copy of Jackie French's shortlisted work The Great Gallipoli Escape. It is based on the last weeks of the Gallipoli campaign and "the fascinating 'lost story' of how 150,000 men - and their horses and equipment - were secretly moved to waiting ships without a single life lost". All told through the eyes of 16-year-old Nipper, who lied about his aged to defend his country.
If you're looking for some otherworldliness, check out Sleeplessness by poet Paul Hetherington. J. Ashley-Smith was highly commended for his collection of accomplished short stories, The Measure of Sorrow. Tiwi Story by Mavis Kerinaiua and Laura Rademaker was also on the shortlist for their inspiring collaboration.
All the writers felt honoured and encouraged to keep doing great work. Makes you proud to be a Canberran.
2024 ACT Book of the Year shortlist
- The Measure of Sorrow: Stories by J. Ashley-Smith
- The Great Gallipoli Escape by Jackie French
- The Seven by Chris Hammer
- Sleeplessness by Paul Hetherington
- Untethered by Ayesha Inoon
- Tiwi Story: Turning history downside up by Mavis Kerinaiua and Laura Rademaker
