Congratulations Michael Burrows, Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist

May 3, 2022

Michael Burrows, shortlisted for the Fogarty Literary Award in 2019, is one of this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists. 

Michael is an author and poet from Perth, Western Australia. In 2017, he completed a Master’s in Creative Writing in London, during which he wrote the first draft of his novel Where the Line Breaks

“Getting Where the Line Breaks out into the world has been one of my proudest achievements, especially given the turmoil of the last few years, so this recognition for my hard work and the work of Fremantle Press in publishing the book, is a very welcome feeling.”

Michael Burrows

Where the Line Breaks is both historical fiction and a literary mystery story, originally reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald as a ‘lively take on the limitations of scholarship and on the unknowable nature of the past’.

Along with Michael, Diana Reid and Ella Baxter have also been recognised for their work. The judges explained that the three novelists stood out for their ‘strong narrative voices, memorable characters and sharp writing – they’ll make you laugh, cry and keep thinking long after you’ve turned the final page.’

The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist awards were established by former Herald literary editor Susan Wyndham to recognise emerging local writing talent. Previous winners of the award include Alice Nelson, Nam Le, Jessie Tu, Alice Bishop, Robbie Arnott, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Hannah Kent, Sonya Hartnett, Malcolm Knox, Elliot Perlman, Luke Davies, Craig Silvey, Christos Tsiolkas and Gillian Mears.

Follow the link below to read the Sydney Morning Herald article, Sex, love and footnotes: Meet the 2022 Best Young Australian Novelists.

Image courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald.

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