The weblog of "Australian Literary Review", "A Pair of Ragged Claws", has announced that the shortlist for the 2009 Barbara Jefferis Award has been released. This award, which was first presented in 2008 to Feather Man by Rhyll McMaster, is presented to "the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society".
The shortlisted works are:
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks(HarperCollins)
The Spare Room by Helen Garner (Text)
The Lifeboat by Zacharey Jane (University of Queensland Press)
Addition by Toni Jordan (Text)
The Good Parents by Joan London (Random House)
The Last Sky by Alice Nelson (Fremantle Press)
The winner will be announced on Friday March 27.
