Lee Lai wins Best Young Australian Novelist for Cannon

Just two days after Lee Lai took home the Stella Prize, the author was declared a Best Young Australian Novelist for Cannon. As with the Stella, it was the first time in the award’s history that a graphic novel has been recognised.

Now in it’s thirtieth year, the prize – which is run by the Sydney Morning Herald – is given annually to Australian fiction writers aged 35 and under.

The judges described the work as ‘universal and quietly brilliant’, praising Lai’s ‘intimate story about the building pressures of family, work and relationships,’ where her ‘fine line drawings carry narrative, emotions and silence, perfectly complementing the spare text.’

In her interview with the paper, Lai says, ‘In Cannon, I wanted to write about the intensity, indispensability and dysfunctional intimacy of long-term queer friendships. Queers are so often looking to create family with one another, and succeeding and failing in beautiful and agonising ways (myself included). I’m hungry to see more stories that explore the queer platonic connections: the ones that are sometimes capable of breaking one’s heart even more profoundly.’

She adds: ‘I find it amusing when people tell me, “I’m just not sure how to read graphic novels”, and I want to tell them, “honey, it’s just top to bottom, left to right”. Best not to overthink it… Last year Michelle de Kretser, in reference to her experimental novel Theory and Practice said that “it’s good to expand the notion of what a novel can be”. I agree.’

Lee Lai will appearing with her fellow prize-winners at the Sydney Morning Festival.