Debut author wins Clarke award
The winner of the 35th Arthur C
Clarke Award for science fiction book of the year has been announced as The Animals in That Country, the debut novel by Laura Jean McKay.
Commenting on her win – which due to the pandemic was announced on Radio 4’s Front Row, rather than in the usual live ceremony – Laura said it was a ‘momentous honour’ adding: ‘This is an award for readers and writers who share a love of literature that dares to imagine sideways, backwards and future worlds to try to make sense of the world that we live in now. Speculative fiction – the sort of sci-fi that I adore – is particularly reflective of our times because it’s often set realistically, with extraordinary events (pandemics! Extinction! Talking animals!)
‘That the Arthur C Clarke judges would recognise a novel that depicts how we as humans relate to other animals and environments is such an exciting outcome – for me (of course) but also for the many people who care about the state of the planet. And to win on such an extraordinary shortlist this year is gobsmacking.
‘When I’m off on a bush walk in New Zealand or Australia, I’m always looking out for that moment of wild encounter – where you see a kererū bird or an echidna and just gape in wonder. But that moment changes a lot if the animals start communicating. As well as curiosity, our contact with other animals is often fraught, violent and deeply unequal. In The Animals in That Country I wanted the humans characters to step aside and let the animals do the talking. What would they have to say? I bet it isn’t what we want to hear… I thought maybe if I could write a book that did that, I (and other readers) might stop and listen to the animals in our lives, too.’
The title of McKay’s novel comes from a poem by Margaret Atwood, who won the first Arthur C Clarke Award in 1987 for what is likely still the most famous title to be so honoured – The Handmaid’s Tale. McKay had already received the Victorian Prize for Literature, Australia’s most valuable literary award, worth $100,000.