The shortlisted works for the 2008 National Biography Award have been released.
Napoleon: The Path To Power 1769-1799 by Philip Dwyer
Lucy Osburn, A Lady Displaced by Judith Godden
A Thinking Reed by Barry Jones
The Mascot by Mark Kurzem
Jonestown: The Power And The Myth Of Alan Jones by Chris Masters
These Few Lines: A Convict Story - The Lost Lives Of Myra & William Sykes by Graham Seal
The winner will be announced at the State Library of NSW on April 10.
I don't think this narrow gap between the announcements of the shortlist and the winner is a good idea. There is no time for the public to be aware of the award before it's done with and forgotten. Heaven forbid anyone would want to actually, you know, read the books before knowing the title of the winner. The Miles Franklin Award seems to have its timing about right: a month between the annnnouncements of longlist and shortlist, and then two months more before the winner is named. There is no real expectation that people will rush out and read all books on the longlist, but there is a possibility they might do so for the shortlisted works. Not much chance of that with the National Biography Award it seems. This is an important award, but is anyone going to remember it come Anzac Day? I somehow doubt it. And that's a pity.
