Can’t get published by the Big Five? Win a major prize instead

July 9, 2026 — 5:30am

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In the book publishing world, small is beautiful. Often it’s the little guys who get their books onto the shortlists for the top prizes, and many go on to win.

The latest breakthrough is about as small as you can get. My Heart At Evening by Konrad Muller, shortlisted for the 2026 Miles Franklin Award, is the one and only book published this year by new Tasmanian-based publishing house Evercreech Editions.

When I spoke to its sole publisher Adam Ouston last year, he told me, “Australian readers are spoken down to a bit … people are crying out for more interesting, stimulating types of writing.” He aims to publish “the out of step, the weird, the boldly defiant”. (Ouston is also an author: his novel Mine, out in August with small publisher Transit Lounge, consists of one long sentence.)

This movement has been developing for some time. Six years ago, literary critic Emmett Stinson........

© The Sydney Morning Herald