Fiona McFarlane (born 1978) is an Australian author, best known for her novel '' The Night Guest'' (2013) and her collections of short stories ''The High Places'' (2016) and '' Highway 13'' (2024). She is a recipient of the

Voss Literary Prize The Voss Literary Prize is an annual award named in honour of historian Vivian Robert de Vaux Voss (1930–1963). It is awarded to the best novel published in the previous year and is managed and judged by the Australian University Heads of Engl ...

, the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing at the

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

, the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

, and the Nita Kibble Literary Award.

Life and career

McFarlane was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia in 1978. She studied English at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Her debut novel, '' The Night Guest'', was published in 2013 and is about a retired widow who lives alone and suffers from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. It won the

and the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing at the

. It was also shortlisted for the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

, the

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Bailey ...

and the

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspa ...

. In 2017, McFarlane won the

for her collection of short stories, ''The High Places''. She was shortlisted for the Fiction Book Award at the 2023

Queensland Literary Awards The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...

and for the Fiction Award at the 2023

Prime Minister's Literary Awards The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts. In 2025, her short story collection '' Highway 13'' won

The Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first ...

. McFarlane's writing has also appeared in '' Zoetrope: All-Story'', '' Southerly'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''.

Literary

Bibliography

Novels

* *

Collections of short stories

* *

Short stories in anthologies

* * * * *

Online short stories

"Art Appreciation"
– published in ''The New Yorker'' on May 6, 2013
"Buttony"
– published in ''The New Yorker'' on February 29, 2016
"Demolition"
– published in ''The New Yorker'' on May 25, 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, Fiona 1978 births Living people 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian writers Writers from Sydney Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of Sydney alumni Michener Center for Writers alumni O. Henry Award winners