{"id":137566,"date":"2025-10-22T04:53:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T04:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/137566\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T04:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T04:53:11","slug":"simon-reaches-finals-in-booklife-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/137566\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon reaches finals in BookLife prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\tWednesday, 22 October 2025 \u00a0 Books+Publishing @booksandpublishing<\/a><\/p>\n

Australian author Luke Icarus Simon has been named a quarter finalist in the Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize \u2013 Fiction for his novel\u00a0The Art in My Palm.<\/p>\n

In their report, the judges said, \u201cThe Art in My Palm is a striking portrait of an individual search for belonging and safety, fashioned against the backdrop of a country at war making battle-worn immigrants out of its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The novel is set in the late 1960s and 1970s and follows Demosthenes, a young Cypriot boy who is forced to flee his home with his family to Australia. There, the family struggles to hold on to themselves and their identity as they face poverty and illness.<\/p>\n

Simon was born in Cyprus and migrated to Australia. He is the author of 4 collections of poetry, a short story collection, 2 academic books and 5 plays.<\/p>\n

The annual BookLife Prize \u201cdiscovers, supports, and celebrates great indie writing across nine categories\u201d. Each category winner will receive US$1000 (A$1540) with an overall fiction and nonfiction winner each receiving US$5000 (A$7703) and a profile in Publishers Weekly.<\/p>\n

The winners of this year\u2019s prize will be announced on 12 December 2025.<\/p>\n

More information about the prize can be found on the BookLife website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Category: Awards<\/a> Local\u00a0news<\/a> <\/p>\n

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