We’re thrilled to announce the six shortlisted books for Readings New Australian Writing Award!

The Readings New Australian Writing Award is for an Australian author’s first or second book of fiction, and recognises exciting and exceptional new literary talent.

Here are the shortlisted books for 2014:

• The Tribe by Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Giramondo)
• An Elegant Young Man by Luke Carman (Giramondo)
• Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Hachette)
• Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey (Hamish Hamilton)
• The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane (Penguin)
• After Darkness by Christine Piper (A&U)

You can read the full judges’ report on the six shortlisted titles here.

We’re delighted that Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites and co-founder and publishing director of literary journal Kill Your Darlings, will be joining our judging panel to help select the winner.

If you want to get involved, then you can sign up for our New Australian Writing Award (NAW) Reading Challenge. You will have the opportunity to share your thoughts on the shortlisted books and win gift vouchers! Find out more about the challenge and sign up here.

The winner of Readings New Australian Writing Award will receive prize money of $4000 and will be announced at a special awards event in late October. You can find more information on the award here.