Palmy novelist scoops lucrative Victorian prize

Published date11 February 2021
AuthorJudith Lacy
Publication titleGuardian, The
“We’ve always been people who stare at animals.”

Her interest in animals, talent and sheer hard work have resulted in a $125,000 pay day.

Laura has won the 2021 Victorian Prize for Literature, part of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. With a $100,000 prize, it is Australia’s richest literary prize.

Her debut novel, The Animals in That Country, also took out the fiction category and $25,000.

Laura is from Victoria, but work brought her to Palmerston North in June 2019. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Massey University.

She had been working contract to contract at the University of Melbourne, which was “lovely but scary”.

Partner Tom Doig is from Wellington and he now also works at Massey.

The Animals in That Country explores what would happen if we could finally understand what animals are saying. Readers come into the idea through the eyes of Jean, Laura says.

Jean loves a drink and a smoke and finds it difficult to get along with other people. But she loves animals and works at a zoo.

A pandemic breaks out and infected people can understand animals. Jean gets sick and realises animals are not saying what we want them to say.

“So it’s a bit like ‘careful what you wish for Jean’.”

A chatty dingo named Sue is a central character and Sue and Jean go on a road trip.

Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards judges said, “McKay’s novel is daring, original and ambitious, with a highly inventive use of language.

“The novel is written with energy and profound empathy, provoking the reader to consider their place in the world, and ensuring they will never see animals in the same way again.”

A day after the announcement Laura tweeted it had “been the most astonishing 24 hours of my life”. She also wrote “I’m beyond speech”.

When Laura spoke to the Guardian three days after the announcement, she said she was “still inarticulate, barely able to string a sentence together about it”.

She’s had hundreds of messages from people sending congratulations and love.

“People have just put so much effort into reaching out,” she says.

“I can’t really express how wonderful this award is even though I’m a writer. I don’t think there are words to express how life-changing this award is.”

Laura says it’s an honour to be recognised by her home state, especially a state that has gone through so much with fires and lockdowns.

Reviewers have called the book “affecting” and one that stayed with them after the last page.

“This is a work of not only remarkable linguistic skill but...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT