π.O. and Alexis Wright finalists for the Melbourne Prize for Literature

π.O. (PiO) and Alexis Wright have been announced as finalists for the 2024 Melbourne Prize for Literature. They are two of four authors shortlisted for the $60,000 prize, now in its 20th year.

The prize is awarded to ‘a Victorian author whose body of published work has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life.’

Wright’s most recent work, Praiseworthy, this year became the first book to win both the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. π.O. is a legendary anarchist poet, and one of the earliest practitioners of performance poetry in Australia. His latest book is The Tour.

Members of the public can vote for a finalist to win the Civic Choice Award 2024, worth $1,500, with voting ending November 13 at 5pm. Cast your vote here.