Bold New Voices Take the Spotlight at Miles Franklin Shortlist Talk
July 8, 2025
Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund Celebrates the 2025 Miles Franklin Finalists at Gleebooks
The future of Australian literature took centre stage at Gleebooks in Sydney as three of the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlist authors — Winnie Dunn, Julie Janson and Siang Lu — gathered for a powerful and witty conversation hosted by Sunil Badami.
The event was supported by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, a proud supporter of the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Each shortlisted author receives $5,000 from the Cultural Fund to honour their literary achievement and support their ongoing work.
L-R: Winnie Dunn, Sunil Badami, Siang Lu and Julie Janson. Photo credit: Dapper Dan Photography
Winnie Dunn: Dirt Poor Islanders
Winnie Dunn’s debut novel Dirt Poor Islanders is a love letter to family, resilience and the Tongan diaspora in Western Sydney. Raw, lyrical and defiantly proud, it centres voices too often pushed to the margins.
Dunn spoke of community, cultural connection, and visibility:
“There’s always someone asking, ‘Do you speak the language?’ Like you had time. Like you weren’t surviving.”
She reminded the audience that Western Sydney isn’t a footnote — it’s the pulse:
“It’s not a sob story. It’s the centre of my world.”
Julie Janson: Compassion
A powerful follow-up to her acclaimed novel Benevolence, Julie Janson’s Compassion continues her unflinching exploration of First Nations resistance and survival in colonial Australia. Woven with historical truth and ancestral strength, it’s a story of reclamation and sovereignty.
Janson reflected on the legacy of storytelling:
“We’ve been telling stories on this continent for 60,000 years. You don’t get more Australian than Aboriginal literature.”
She also paid tribute to Magabala Books — her publisher and cultural powerhouse in Broome:
“I was really happy for Magabala. They carry our voices.”
L-R: Sunil Badami, Julie Janson, Winnie Dunn and Siang Lu Photo credit: Dapper Dan Photography
Siang Lu: Ghost Cities
Following the viral success of his debut The Whitewash, Siang Lu returns with Ghost Cities — a sharp, global satire that unpacks grief, memory and the immigrant experience with humour and cinematic flair.
Lu recalled sharing his early stories with his father:
“He came down with the most wondrous look on his face… he slapped the pages and asked, ‘How did he do it?’”
That blend of love and mystery echoes throughout Ghost Cities, a novel that travels across continents but always returns to the heart of identity:
“It does a number on you growing up in two cultures. But using what you once hated about yourself — that’s joy.”
Sunil Badami on Literature and Belonging
Host Sunil Badami brought warmth, insight and laughter as he threaded the evening together. He captured the spirit of the night in one sentence:
“This — this is what Australian literature looks like.”
The event, supported by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, highlighted not just the power of stories, but the importance of ensuring those stories are heard, funded and celebrated.