Geelong author Kgshak Akec is in the running to win Australia’s most prestigious literary prize, with her debut novel Hopeless Kingdom named as one of the six shortlisted works for the 2023 Miles Franklin award this week.
Ms Akec, 26, is the youngest novelist on the list and the only debut author to make the shortlist for the award.
Though she found out some weeks ago, Ms Akec said she had to keep the news to herself until the embargo was lifted on Tuesday, June 20.
“I found out I was shortlisted on a random Thursday night, I was out with a friend,” she said.
“It was after dinner and I saw the text message, I had to pretend like I didn’t see it so I wouldn’t give anything away. When I got home I read the text and sat with it for hours and hours.
“Everyone else on the long list are amazing authors with excellent works and years in the industry, so that was a big enough honour. When I was shortlisted it was a huge shock to my system; there’s still a huge part of me that is trying to unpack the shock of it.”
Hopeless Kingdom draws on Ms Akec’s own experiences as a young refugee coming to Australia, not understanding English but feeling the sense of ‘otherness’.
“I’ve been thinking very much about my 7-, 8-year-old self, and it makes me emotional to think about it,” she said.
“I didn’t feel connected to a lot of the people around me, but I felt really connected to words. First learning how to read and write in English, that was where I found peace and solace; even back then I was such a lover of stories.
“If I were to go back and tell her, look, this is what you’ll be doing, she’d be like, yeah nah, no way.”
The 2023 winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award will be announced July 25.
