Miles Franklin 1879-1954, Hurstville

Statue of the author of My Brilliant Career, Miles Franklin, born Stella Maria Sarah Miles Lampe Franklin . Located in suburban Hurstville, the sculpture by Jacek Luszczyk commemorates her connections with Hurstville: she and her family lived at nearby Carlton and she hired a Hurstville hotel room to type in.

The Miles Franklin Award, the first and most prestigious literary award in Australia, was established in 1954 with a bequest from Franklin. The award celebrates Australian character and creativity and is awarded for the novel of the year that has the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases. The Award this year is worth $ 42,000.

The 2008 Longlist was announced on 13th March. 59 books were submitted. The longlist of nine comprised:

Landscape of Farewell by Alex Miller
Love Without Hope by Rodney Hall
Orpheus Lost by Janette Turner Hospital
Secrets of the Sea by Nicholas Shakespeare
Sorry by Gail Jones
The Fern Tattoo by David Brooks
The Memory Room by Christopher Koch
The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll
The Widow and Her Hero by Tom Keneally

Today the shortlist was announced, and it is those books highlighted above.

Read more about them here.

19th June - Winner announced

http://www.trust.com.au/awards/miles_franklin/

There are more photos of the sculpture at Sydney Daily Photo Extras.