Home / Arts and Entertainment / Indigenous Story Wins Top Fiction Prize
Indigenous Story Wins Top Fiction Prize
10 Sep
Summary
- A "landmark" novel blending oral history and fiction won the $80,000 prize.
- The story depicts cultural exchange and the impact of colonisation in Arnhem Land.
- The award recognizes pre-colonial Australian narratives, challenging historical focus.
The prestigious Prime Minister's Literary Award for fiction, with an $80,000 prize, has been awarded to "A Piece of Red Cloth." This novel is a groundbreaking collaboration between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal storytellers, masterfully weaving together pre-colonial Yolngu oral history with Western novelistic techniques.
The story unfolds in a coastal north-east Arnhem Land community during the 1600s, detailing the initial peaceful trade with Makassan fishers. It dramatically shifts to depict the devastating impact of Dutch colonisers who introduced alcohol and opium, threatening the Yolngu people and their young women.
Judges acclaimed "A Piece of Red Cloth" as a "landmark achievement in fiction" and a benchmark for collaborative writing. They praised its profound remembrance and re-imagination, deeply integrating oral history and cultural knowledge. The award signifies a crucial acknowledgment of Australia's pre-colonial history, moving beyond the traditional focus on European arrival.
Other Prime Minister's Literary Awards were also presented. Investigative journalist Kate Wild won the nonfiction prize for "The Red House." Zana Fraillon received the children's literature award for "Song of a Thousand Seas," and Rohan Howitt won for Australian history with "The Southern Frontier."
