Book of the Year: the 12 titles that have made The Age shortlist

The winners will be announced by Age editor Patrick Elligett at Melbourne Town Hall on May 8 as part of the opening night of this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival, which will feature bestselling American writer Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours and Day.

The fiction judges described Birch’s novel about domestic violence as “a book that will live with you”; Bishop’s as “incredibly atmospheric and finely crafted”; Hearst’s debut as “an amazing accomplishment … funny, sad and revelatory”; Jose’s “stunning” political thriller as exhibiting “a writer on top of his craft”; Wood’s as “showing an acute understanding of the peculiarities and painful nuances of human life”; and Yu’s as “pitch perfect, wryly funny and hugely entertaining”.

Caterson and Damousi labelled Fullagar’s history as nuanced and erudite, “breaking from conventional accounts which privilege the colonisers over the colonised”; Hayward’s collection as essays in which “the most mundane domestic tasks required of most of us [were] invested with a sense of wonder as well as occasional disgust”; and Lamb’s biography of Frank Moorhouse as providing “a complex and compelling portrait of the early life of its subject”.

They described McMullin’s book as a “painstakingly researched and profoundly empathetic micro-history”; van Neerven’s memoir as a highly engaging and eloquent work “exploring the rich intersections between sport, sexuality, gender and identity”; and Unreich’s story of her Holocaust survivor mother as “an exploration of resilience, faith, spirituality, family and relentless positivity and enduring hope”.

Last year, Robbie Arnott’s Limberlost won the fiction prize and Kim Mahood’s Wandering with Intent the non-fiction award.

The Age is a partner of the Melbourne Writers Festival.

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.