Lucky’s by Andrew Pippos shortlisted for the 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
Lucky’s by Andrew Pippos has been shortlisted for the 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, in the fiction category. Lucky’s was one of five fiction novels chosen for the award.
The Awards recognise and celebrate the exceptional literary talents of established and emerging Australian writers. The winners in each category receive $80,000 and the shortlisted writers each receive $5000. Find out more about the prize here and at the #PMLitAwards hashtag.
Lucky’s is Andrew Pippos’ debut novel, with this nomination adding to an extensive list of accolades for the novel:
- THE READINGS PRIZE FOR NEW AUSTRALIAN FICTION 2021 – Shortlisted
- ABIA MATT RICHELL NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021 – Shortlisted
- THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD 2021 – Shortlisted
- THE MUD LITERARY PRIZE 2021 – Shortlisted
- ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE 2021 – Highly commended
About the book:
Lucky’s is a story of family.
A story about migration.
It is also about a man called Lucky.
His restaurant chain.
A fire that changed everything.
A New Yorker article which might save a career.
The mystery of a missing father.
An impostor who got the girl.
An unthinkable tragedy.
A roll of the dice.
And a story of love – lost, sought and won again (at last).
Following a trail of cause and effect that spans decades, this unforgettable epic tells a story about lives bound together by the pursuit of love, family, and new beginnings.
About the author:
I
n planning for his debut novel, Lucky’s, Andrew Pippos did not need to look far for inspiration. This richly layered, sweeping saga documents the rise and fall of a family restaurant business over six decades.
Growing up, Andrew was a regular visitor to his family’s café in regional Australia. The Pippos’s Café De-Luxe operated in the remote New South Wales town of Brewarrina for more than eighty years. Andrew’s early experiences at the Café De-Luxe laid the foundation of his work as a writer. His relatives-who emigrated from the island of Ithaca, home of the hero Odysseus-would regale him with their favourite stories from Greek mythology, and over the years, his love of legends evolved into a love of literature, which led Andrew to tell stories of his own.
The compelling role of the Greek-Australian café within modern Australian identity is increasingly documented in popular culture and history books alike. While sadly few exist now, for much of the second half of the twentieth century these cafés could be found on urban shopping streets and in rural country towns. They represented a new Australian zeitgeist and symbolised every-day multiculturalism. The Greek-Australian cafe milieu gave Andrew his earliest sense of community.
Lucky’s is Andrew Pippos’s debut novel. A former journalist, Andrew has a doctorate in Creative Writing and tutors at the University of Technology, Sydney. He lives in Sydney’s inner west. Get your copy of Andrew Pippos’ incredible debut here.
See the entire shortlist: