Cold War drama shortlisted for ACT book prize
Lucy Neave. Photo by Jay Cronan.
Dr Lucy Neave’s novel Who We Were has been shortlisted for this year’s ACT Book of the Year.
Neave, a lecturer in creative writing at the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, worked on the novel for more than ten years in between her academic work and writing short fiction. Who We Were is her first novel.
“It was the only novel shortlisted, and I’m excited that my book has been recognised as an important work of fiction in the ACT,” she says.
“For my first novel to be shortlisted is a great honour, and I think my next novel, which I’m working on now, is going to be even better.”
Who We Were tells the story of two scientists who find themselves caught up in the Cold War arms race. It is an intimate and powerful love story about trust, obsession and the truth itself.
The judges said the book was a “well-researched work of fiction by an emerging writer of great promise, shedding light on Australian and international scientific history.”
Book of the Year is a $10,000 prize awarded by the ACT Government for excellence in literature. The Award recognises contemporary Australian literary works by ACT authors published in the previous calendar year and includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
The five shortlisted books were chosen from a total of 48 nominations across a range of genres.
ANU historian Frank Bongiorno won the 2013 Book of the year award for his work The Sex Lives of Australians, from a field of 28 nominations.
The winner will be announced in early 2015.
Further information on Who We Were is available via Text Publishing