Stephanie Bishop has been named the winner of this year’s Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction for her novel, The Other Side of the World.

The five books shortlisted alongside Bishop’s novel were Last Day in the Dynamite Factory by Annah Faulkner, In the Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones, Arms Race by Nic Low, Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman, and Heat and Light by Ellen van Neerven.

Judges Comments:

Readings Managing Director and Readings Prize judge Mark Rubbo said: “I was terribly impressed by The Other Side of the World. It’s evocative of its time and place – England and Australia in the sixties – yet has a timelessness about it that makes it totally relevant.”

Bookseller and Readings Prize judge Danielle Mirabella said: "Stephanie Bishop’s novel is a stunning work of Australian fiction about marriage, family, homesickness and nostalgia. Bishop’s elegant and beautiful prose stayed with me long after the final page; I found myself returning to reread passages again and again."

Author and Readings Prize guest judge Hannah Kent said, “Beautifully written and atmospheric, Bishop illustrates the deep ambivalence one woman feels towards marriage and motherhood with breathtaking insight.”

Read more about the award and shortlisted titles here.