Share this @internewscast.com
Brisbane writer Siang Lu has won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his comical novel Ghost Cities, after more than 200 publishers rejected the manuscript.
And the 39-year-old author isn’t joking when he says he was shocked to find out he had won the $60,000 prize after being shortlisted for the first time.
“I just sat down and actually lost all feeling in my hands and legs, and I lost my voice,” he said.
“It was one of the first times in my life where I actually had to ask someone with complete seriousness, to just tell me that I wasn’t dreaming.”
Australia’s most prestigious literary award was announced at a ceremony in Sydney on Thursday night, at which Lu revealed that he finished the manuscript for Ghost Cities a decade ago in 2015, but it was rejected more than 200 times by publishers in Australia and overseas.

“I used to print my rejections and Blu-Tack them on the glass pane between my office, and my bedroom. My youngest child, Madeleine, had just been born — she is nine now — and she would nap on that big bed while I worked and kept an eye on her,” he said in his acceptance speech.

A man speaking at a podium into a microphone. On a screen behind him, a book called "Ghost Cities" is displayed.

Siang Lu accepted the $60,000 prize at an event in Sydney on Thursday night. Source: AAP / Jane Dempster

“The rejections kept piling up. Eventually, they grew so numerous that I could no longer see through the glass, into the bedroom where my daughter slept.”

Having finally been published by University of Queensland Press, the winning book has been described by critics as both intellectually ambitious and zany, and by the Miles Franklin judges as a “genuine landmark” in Australian literature.
“Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities is at once a grand farce and a haunting meditation on diaspora. Sitting within a tradition in Australian writing that explores failed expatriation and cultural fraud, Lu’s novel is also something strikingly new,” the judges said.
“Shimmering with satire and wisdom, and with an absurdist bravura, Ghost Cities is a genuine landmark in Australian literature.”
Lu says his win changes things dramatically — not only financially, but in terms of recognition for the quality of his work.

Ghost Cities was inspired by megacities built in China during the nation’s real estate boom, many of which have been left uninhabited and falling into ruin.

A man holding an award frame and smiling.

The manuscript for Ghost Cities was completed in 2015, but rejected more than 200 times by publishers in Australia and overseas. Source: AAP / Jane Dempster

It weaves together multiple stories — including that of a young man who is fired from his job as a translator at the Chinese consulate in Sydney, when it is discovered he is monolingual and has been relying on Google Translate.

There’s also a chess automaton with a secret, and an ancient emperor who creates a thousand replicas of himself.
Since his novel hit the shelves in 2024, Lu has found what he describes as a perverse joy in chatting to his readers, as they try to guess what Ghost Cities is actually saying.
The answer is less complex than readers might imagine: “It is trying to be funny,” he promises.
Siang Lu’s debut novel was 2022’s The Whitewash, while his online tracking project The Beige Index — described as “the Bechdel Test for race” in the film industry — has found an audience worldwide.
The 2025 shortlist was dominated by writers of colour, including veteran Brian Castro, who has made the shortlist four times, and two-time winner Michelle de Kretser.
The six authors shortlisted for the Miles Franklin also receive $5,000 from the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Missing four-year-old Gus

Police Reduce Search Efforts for Gus, Missing for Six Days

Police have scaled back their search for four-year-old Gus, who went missing…
Cyclone Errol is forecast to make landfall on Good Friday.

Upcoming Tropical Cyclone Names in Australia Are Diverse and Unique

A punk rock icon and a fermented Japanese rice have helped inspire…
Canning Vale

Perth Teenager in Critical Condition Following Car Park Stabbing Incident

A 16-year-old boy is clinging to life after being stabbed several times…
Man to face court over 'misleading' federal election attack pamphlets

Man to Appear in Court for Allegedly Misleading Federal Election Attack Flyers

The Australian Electoral Commission is taking legal action against a man for…
farm at Woodhill

Husband to Face Trial for Allegedly Faking Wife’s Death

A man facing charges for allegedly making his wife’s death appear as…
Levi had just turned 16 and gotten his learner driver's licence.

Devastated Mother Urges Vaccine Funding Following Sudden Death of Teen

A heartbroken mother is urging for the meningococcal B vaccine to be…
Fashion magazine Elle UK has issued an apology after being slammed for cropping Blackpink star Rosé, 28, out of a group photo

Elle UK Apologizes for Omitting Blackpink’s Rosé from Paris Fashion Week Photo Following Fan Backlash

Fashion magazine Elle UK has issued an apology after being slammed for…
Hamas agrees to release hostages after 'accepting' parts of peace plan

Hamas Agrees to Release Hostages After ‘Accepting’ Elements of Peace Proposal

Hamas says it has accepted some elements of US President Donald Trump’s…
Balin Miller sits atop Mount Hunter on May 14, 2025 after summiting via the French Connection route solo.

Renowned US climber tragically falls to death from Yosemite’s El Capitan

A popular Alaskan climber has fallen to his death from Yosemite National…
Sean 'Diddy' Combs set to be sentenced, faces possibility of years in prison

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Awaits Sentencing, Could Face Several Years Behind Bars

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sentencing hearing commenced on Friday (Saturday morning AEST) for…
Firefighters are working to control a bushfire that is threatening properties in a community in Brisbane's north-west.

Firefighters Battling to Control Bushfire Endangering Homes in Brisbane’s Northwest

Firefighters are working to control a bushfire that is threatening properties in…

Israel Announces Detention of Over 400 from Gaza Relief Flotilla, Plans Deportations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised Israeli naval forces for intercepting…