Melbourne author Jennifer Down has won the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award, one of Australia's most prestigious prizes for writers, for her ambitious and brutally realist novel Bodies of Light, which examines the impacts of childhood trauma on a person's life.
When describing this year’s winning novel, the judges said, “Bodies of Light invites readers to witness the all-too-often concealed, destructive forces of institutionalised care. With extraordinary skill and compassion, Down has written an important book which speaks to an urgent issue in contemporary Australian life.”
The novel follows protagonist Maggie, who fights to create a meaningful life for herself despite experiencing mental illness, substance abuse and emotional trauma - tragic by-products of an abusive childhood. When an unexpected Facebook message jolts her back to the past, she's reluctant to revisit her dark memories and unspoken trauma.
She became a new person a long time ago. What happens when buried stories are dragged into the light?
Bodies of Light was selected from a shortlist that included two-time Miles Franklin shortlisted author Michael Mohammed Ahmad, two-time Miles Franklin winner Michelle de Kretser, award-winning novelist Alice Pung and self-published writer Michael Winkler.
See the full shortlist and more information at Miles Franklin Literary Award.
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