'The Deceptions' wins Nib People's Choice Prize & 'Fathoms' wins Nib Literary Award

12 November 2020

Rebecca Giggs’ Fathoms (Scribe) has won the Waverley Council’s $20,000 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award for 2020.

Giggs’s work of narrative nonfiction blends natural history, science and philosophy to explore how the lives of whales can not only shed light on the condition, of our seas and the environment, but the very core of humanity.

On winning the Nib, Giggs said: ‘In a year when it has been difficult to connect directly with readers and bookstores, and with other writers, this prize feels consequential in a new way; as a gesture of community, as well as of esteem.’

Suzanne Leal’s The Deceptions (A&U) won the People’s Choice Prize, worth $1000, with more than half of all public votes. Leal’s novel, inspired by a true story, moves from wartime Europe to modern day Australia and traces the legacy of long-buried family secrets.

Fathoms was chosen from a shortlist of six. Each of the shortlisted authors also receive $1000.

The Waverley Council Nib Literary Award was established in 2002 to recognise the role of research in fiction and nonfiction.

For more information about the award, visit the Waverley Library website.