Morgan shortlisted for Australia’s most valuable literary award

Sally Morgan’s new book, Sister Heart, was shortlisted for a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award today. Poignantly written from the child’s perspective, Sister Heart tells the story of a young Aboriginal girl’s experience as part of the Stolen Generations.

Morgan said she was very happy but also very surprised to discover that her verse novel for children had made the shortlist.

‘This is such a shock. The book wasn’t planned. It began with a dream. In the dream my great-grandmother came to me and gave me the first page of the book. I knew it was a story I had to write, because she had given it to me,’ said Morgan.

Morgan said the writing process was an emotional rollercoaster that saw her reworking some passages hundreds of times.

‘I was worried I hadn’t done the story justice and I am sure there are things I could have done have better, but I did the best I could do at the time,’ said Morgan.

Fremantle Press children’s publisher Cate Sutherland said she was delighted to see an important book like Sister Heart winning recognition.

‘Getting the manuscript for this beautiful and delicate story was a goosebumps moment. We’ve had a long association with Sally and I’m so pleased we’ve been the publisher to share this book with the world,’ said Sutherland.

The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards honour literary achievement by Australian writers. Morgan is in the running for a $25,000 prize for Young Adult Literature as well as the 2016 Victorian Prize for Literature, for which the winner receives an additional $100,000. This is the single most valuable literary prize in the country.

Sister Heart was released in August at New Edition Books in Fremantle. Morgan is an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) and a percentage of the author proceeds from this book will be donated to the ILF. It is available from all good bookstores.