Murray Middleton has been named the winner of the Vogel’s Literary Award 2015 for his short-story collection, When There’s Nowhere Else To Run.

The characters of Middleton’s 14 stories are all seeking refuge across the country, from the wheat belt of Western Australia to the limestone desert of South Australia, but they all discover that no matter how many thousands of kilometres they put between themselves and their transgressions, sometimes there’s nowhere else to run.

As the recipient of this award, Middleton receives $20,000 prize money and publication by Allen & Unwin. The Vogel is notable for launching the careers of several prominent Australian authors, such as Tim Winton, Kate Grenville and Gillian Mears. Last year’s winner After Darkness by Christine Piper was recently longlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin award, and was also shortlisted for the Readings New Australian Writing Award 2014.

When There’s Nowhere Else To Run will be released this week.