The Miles Franklin Literary Award is a yearly prize given to a novel that shows Australian life in many ways and has excellent writing. The award was created based on the wishes of Miles Franklin, who lived from 1879 to 1954. She is most famous for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career, published in 1901. She left her money and property to support this award. In 2025, the award is worth A$60,000.

Winners, old dating convention

The prize used the year when eligible novels were published as its date, even though it was not awarded until the next year.

Winners, new dating convention

The prize is given to the best novel published the year before it is awarded, and now shows the year it is given. Even though the change removed the name "1988" for the prize, the series continues every year without stopping. The prize for novels published in 1987 was announced on 10 May 1988 as the "1987" prize, which was won by Glenda Adams. The prize for novels published in 1988 was announced on 25 July 1989 as the "1989" prize, which was won by Peter Carey.

Controversies

Author Frank Moorhouse was not allowed to compete for his novel Grand Days because the story took place in Europe during the 1920s and did not focus enough on Australian experiences.

In 1995, Helen Darville, also known as Helen Demidenko and Helen Dale, won the award for her book The Hand That Signed the Paper. Her win caused people to argue about whether the book was real. Darville said the story was based on her family’s history and that she was of Ukrainian descent. David Marr, who gave her the award, said that even if her background was different, it did not change how good the story was. He also said her claims about knowing details from family history were likely false.

Before the controversy was known, Darville’s book was criticized for being anti-Semitic and for supporting the idea of harming Jewish people. Later, it was discovered that she copied parts of other books.

In 2004, three judges left their positions because they believed the awards were being treated as a business.

In 2022, writer John Hughes was accused of copying large parts of his 2021 book The Dogs from Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich’s nonfiction book The Unwomanly Face of War. Comparisons showed nearly 60 similar or identical sentences between the two books. The Guardian newspaper also found that both books described the same events, including the scene that inspired the title of The Dogs. Further checks showed Hughes also copied parts of classic books like The Great Gatsby and Anna Karenina without giving credit. His book was later removed from the competition.

The Stella Prize was started in 2013 to address concerns that women were not being recognized enough in literary awards, especially after the 2011 Miles Franklin Award shortlist. However, since 2013, only three men have won the Miles Franklin Award.

Repeat winners

Thea Astley has received four awards in the years 1962, 1965, 1972, and 2000. Tim Winton has received four awards in the years 1984, 1992, 2002, and 2009. Peter Carey has received three awards in the years 1981, 1989, and 1998. David Ireland has received three awards in the years 1971, 1976, and 1979. Jessica Anderson has received two awards in the years 1978 and 1980. Rodney Hall has received two awards in the years 1982 and 1994. Thomas Keneally has received two awards in the years 1967 and 1968. Michelle de Kretser has received two awards in the years 2013 and 2018. George Johnston has received two awards in the years 1964 and 1969. Christopher Koch has received two awards in the years 1985 and 1996. Alex Miller has received two awards in the years 1993 and 2003. Kim Scott has received two awards in the years 2000 and 2011. Patrick White has received two awards in the years 1957 and 1961. Alexis Wright has received two awards in the years 2007 and 2024.

Shortlisted works

Shortlisted book titles are only listed from 1987 onwards. There are no records of shortlists being published before 1987.

In 1989, the way the prize is dated changed from the year a book was published to the year the prize was announced. Even though there was no prize named "1988," the yearly series of prizes continued without interruption.

Longlisted works

Books on the longlist are only listed starting from the year 2005. This was the first year that the judging panel released such a list. The number of books included on the longlist changes from year to year.

• Salt Rain, Sarah Armstrong
• The Gift of Speed, Steven Carroll
• Backwaters, Robert Engwerda
• The Ghost Writer, John Harwood
• The Broken Book, Susan Johnson
• Sixty Lights, Gail Jones
• A Private Man, Malcolm Knox
• The Philosopher's Doll, Amanda Lohrey
• The White Earth, Andrew McGahan
• I Have Kissed Your Lips, Gerard Windsor
• The Submerged Cathedral, Charlotte Wood
• The Last Ride, Denise Young

• Knitting, Anne Bartlett
• The Garden Book, Brian Castro
• The Secret River, Kate Grenville
• An Accidental Tourist, Stephen Lang
• The Ballad of Desmond Kale, Roger McDonald
• Prochownik's Dream, Alex Miller
• Sunnyside, Joanna Murray-Smith
• A Case of Knives, Peter Rose
• The Broken Shore, Peter Temple
• Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living, Carrie Tiffany
• Dead Europe, Christos Tsiolkas
• The Wing of Night, Brenda Walker

• Theft: A Love Story, Peter Carey
• Silent Parts, John Charalambous
• The Unknown Terrorist, Richard Flanagan
• Beyond the Break, Sandra Hall
• Dreams of Speaking, Gail Jones
• The Unexpected Elements of Love, Kate Legge
• Careless, Deborah Robertson
• Carpentaria, Alexis Wright

• The Fern Tattoo, David Brooks
• The Time We Have Taken, Steven Carroll
• Love Without Hope, Rodney Hall
• Orpheus Lost, Janette Turner Hospital
• Sorry, Gail Jones
• The Widow and Her Hero, Thomas Keneally
• The Memory Room, Christopher Koch
• Landscape of Farewell, Alex Miller
• Secrets of the Sea, Nicholas Shakespeare

• The Pages, Murray Bail
• Wanting, Richard Flanagan
• Addition, Toni Jordan
• One Foot Wrong, Sofie Laguna
• Ice, Louis Nowra
• Fugitive Blue, Claire Thomas
• A Fraction of the Whole, Steve Toltz
• The Devil's Eye, Ian Townsend
• The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas
• Breath, Tim Winton

• Figurehead, Patrick Allington
• Parrot and Olivier in America, Peter Carey
• The Bath Fugues, Brian Castro
• Boy on a Wire, Jon Doust
• The Book of Emmett, Deborah Forster
• Sons of the Rumour, David Foster
• Siddon Rock, Glenda Guest
• Butterfly, Sonya Hartnett
• The People's Train, Thomas Keneally
• Lovesong, Alex Miller
• Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey
• Truth, Peter Temple

• Rocks in the Belly, John Bauer
• The Good Daughter, Honey Brown
• The Mary Smokes Boys, Patrick Holland
• The Piper's Son, Melina Marchetta
• When Colts Ran, Roger McDonald
• Time's Long Ruin, Stephen Orr
• That Deadman Dance, Kim Scott
• The Legacy, Kirsten Tranter
• Bereft, Chris Womersley

• Blood, Tony Birch
• Spirit of Progress, Steven Carroll
• Spirit House, Mark Dapin
• The Precipice, Virginia Duigan
• All That I Am, Anna Funder
• Sarah Thornhill, Kate Grenville
• Five Bells, Gail Jones
• Foal's Bread, Gillian Mears
• Autumn Laing, Alex Miller
• Cold Light, Frank Moorhouse
• Past the Shallows, Favel Parrett
• The Street Sweeper, Elliot Perlman
• Animal People, Charlotte Wood

• Floundering, Romy Ash
• Lola Bensky, Lily Brett
• Street to Street, Brian Castro
• Questions of Travel, Michelle de Kretser
• The Beloved, Annah Faulkner
• The Daughters of Mars, Thomas Keneally
• The Mountain, Drusilla Modjeska
• The Light Between Oceans, M. L. Stedman
• Mateship with Birds, Carrie Tiffany
• Red Dirt Talking, Jacqueline Wright

• The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, Tracy Farr
• The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan
• The Railwayman's Wife, Ashley Hay
• Mullumbimby, Melissa Lucashenko
• The Night Guest, Fiona McFarlane
• Belomor, Nicolas Rothwell
• Game, Trevor Shearston
• My Beautiful Enemy, Cory Taylor
• Eyrie, Tim Winton
• The Swan Book, Alexis Wright
• All the Birds, Singing, Evie Wyld

• In Certain Circles, Elizabeth Harrower
• Golden Boys, Sonya Hartnett
• The Eye of the Sheep, Sofie Laguna
• The Golden Age, Joan London
• The Lost Child, Suzanne McCourt
• Here Come the Dogs, Omar Musa
• When the Night Comes, Favel Parrett
• After Darkness, Christine Piper
• Tree Palace, Craig Sherborne
• Nest, Inga Simpson

• Ghost River, Tony Birch
• Coming Rain, Stephen Daisley
• Hope Farm, Peggy Frew
• Leap, Myfanwy Jones
• The World Without Us, Mireille Juchau
• The Hands: An Australian Pastoral, Stephen Orr
• Black Rock White City, A. S. Patrić
• Salt Creek, Lucy Treloar
• The Natural Way of Things, Charlotte Wood

• The Easy Way Out, Steven Amsterdam
• An Isolated Incident, Emily Maguire
• The Last Days of Ava Langdon, Mark O'Flynn
• Their Brilliant Careers, Ryan O'Neill
• A Loving, Faithful Animal, Josephine Rowe
• Waiting, Philip Salom
• Where The Trees Are, Inga Simpson
• Hold, Kirsten Tranter
• Grimmish, Michael Winkler

• Hopeless Kingdom, Kgshak Akec
• Limberlost, Robbie Arnott
• Cold Enough for Snow, Jessica Au
• Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, Shankari Chandran
• Enclave, Claire G. Coleman
• Losing Face, George Haddad
• Forty Nights, Pirooz Jafari
• Madukka: The River Serpent, Julie Janson
• The Lovers, Yumna Kassab
• Iris, Fiona Kelly McGregor