2008 Australia-Asia Literary Award: Shortlist

THE SHORTLIST for Australasia’s richest literary prize was announced by the Western Australian Culture and Arts Minister John Day on October 30, 2008. Four novels and a collection of stories were shortlisted from a longlist of 12 books announced a week ago.

The shortlisted books are:
1. The Lost Dog / Michelle de Kretser
2. Blood Kin / Ceridwen Dovey
3. The Reluctant Fundamentalist / Mohsin Hamid
4. Orpheus Lost / Janette Turner Hospital
5. The Complete Stories / David Malouf

The judging panel, comprising Sri Lanka-born, Hong Kong-based columnist Nury Vittachi, Pakistan-born award-winning author Kamila Shamsie and Melbourne-based literary critic Peter Craven, will announce a winner on November 21, 2008, in Perth to coincide with the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards.