MOST UNDERRATED BOOK AWARD 2016 WINNER ANNOUNCED
The Small Press Network (SPN) is delighted to announce the winner of the fifth annual Most Underrated Book Award (MUBA), sponsored by Booktopia is Creating Cities by Marcus Westbury (Niche Press)..
The full shortlist was:
- A Man Made Entirely of Bats by Patrick Lenton (Spineless Wonders)
- Clancy of the Undertow by Christopher Currie (Text Publishing)
- Creating Cities by Marcus Westbury (Niche Press)
- The Floating Garden by Emma Ashmere (Spinifex Press).
The shortlist and winner were chosen by the judging panel of author Toni Jordan, former young bookseller of the year Megan O’Brien, and Books and Arts Daily producer Sarah L’Estrange.
‘These are all wonderful books and we send our congratulations to their authors,’ said chair Toni Jordan.
Westbury received a $500 cash prize thanks to sponsor Booktopia, at an evening event on Friday 11 November at the Independent Publishing Conference in Melbourne.
About the award
Open to all members of the Small Press Network, the Most Underrated Book Award is designed to highlight titles that did not garner the sales or recognition they deserved at the time of release.
About the sponsor
Founded in 2004, Booktopia (www.booktopia.com.au) is Australia’s home-grown, leading online bookstore and regularly donates to literacy charities and organisations.
About the conference
Now in its fifth year, SPN’s Independent Publishing conference will run from 9-12 November at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. Program and tickets available here.
About the judges
A prolific author in her own right, Toni Jordan has published four novels since 2008, Addition (2000), Fall Girl (2010), Nine Days (2012) and Our Tiny, Useless Hearts (2016). As a producer of Books and Arts Daily on ABC Radio National and during five years on The Book Show, Sarah L’Estrange has carved out a lucrative career in the arts. Rounding out our trio of esteemed judges is Megan O’Brien, 2012’s Australian Booksellers Association Random House Young Bookseller of the Year.