THE PRIZE

Book cover: A black and white image of a man leaning on a window looking out the window. His face is obscured by his arm. Text: Inspired by the real-life events of the 1943 Archibald controversy. A portrait. A scandal. Two lives changed forever.

BUY THE PRIZE:

When two artists enter the 1943 Archibald Prize, a scandal unfolds that grips not only the art world but the nation.

A tender and charming love story with shattering consequences, inspired by real-life events.

‘Is that what you want to do? Peer into my soul and capture my flaws, for all to see?’

When William Dobell paints a portrait of lover and fellow artist Joshua Smith, he is awarded Australia’s most prestigious art prize. A protest is lodged by Dobell’s competitors who claim the painting is a caricature. Both artist and sitter soon find themselves in the glare of the spotlight when a court case to determine the matter turns into a public spectacle.  

As World War II draws to a close, Australian society is still deeply conservative. Homosexuality is illegal, the scourge of Modernism is infecting Australian art, and an up-and-coming barrister, Garfield Barwick, is looking to cement his future place on the bench of the Supreme Court.  

Bill and Joshua’s relationship is put under pressure and at risk of being exposed as they are caught in a world where they must choose between love and art: between acceptance and exile. 

The Prize was selected as one of Apple Books’ What To Read This Month collection for April 2023

THE PRIZE | BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
THE PRIZE | BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
Kim is sitting at a desk looking directly at the camera with one hand under her chin in a blue and white blouse. On the desk in front of her is a copy of her book, The Prize.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Prize is a work of fiction based on real characters and actual events. However, there are things we know and don’t know about the events and about the characters, including William Dobell, Joshua Smith, Garfield Barwick, and, not least, Mary Edwards, an enigmatic and, depending on your view, ahead or behind the times.

’Anderson’s prose is expansive and attentive, able to capture the smallest of gestures, as layers of paint on canvas.’

— Leona | Better Read Than Dead Bookshop

‘This is an elegantly written novel that has been packed with research, and it is excellent to see a commercial novel bringing a bit of Australian queer history back into the public consciousness.’

— Sian Cain | The Guardian Australia

‘One of the most original Oz Lit books of 2023’

—Sydney Morning Herald

’Anderson skillfully re-awakens 40s wartime Sydney with honest colour, fully realised characters and an honesty that draws you in from page one.’

— Robert | Better Read Than Dead Bookshop

‘absorbing and intriguing’

—Belinda Alexandra, author of The French Agent

‘gripping, meticulously researched … an urgent and fascinating read’

—Melissa Ashely, author of The Birdman’s Wife

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Product Details:

Published: 4th April 2023
PRINT ISBN: 9780645498547
Imprint: Pantera Press
Pages: 320
FICTION / Historical Fiction