Prize-winning Author

Philip Salom

Philip Salom is a Melbourne writer, initially known for his exceptional poetry, which has won the Commonwealth Poetry Book Prize – twice. He made a seamless transition from poet to novelist in 1991. 

SWEENEY AND THE BICYCLES is Philip’s sixth novel, following the successful publication of THE FIFTH SEASON (longlisted for the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award), THE RETURNS  and WAITING (both shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award).

Philip Salom Author
BOAO Award logo

 

Philip Salom won the Outstanding Achievement Award of the 4th Boao International Poetry Award, a major award for lifetime achievements in Poetry.   
The award ceremony was held at the Boao Asian Forum, Hainan, China in November 2021.

Recent Books

Sweeney and the Bicycles (front cover)

Sweeney and the Bicycles

The scar on the back of Sweeney’s head is shaped like an S. He is obsessed with the beauty of bicycles, which he steals after painting his face in astonishing shapes and patterns.

Written with warmth and humour, this captivatingly original novel opens us up to an intimate world of marvellous characters and unexpected developments. Trauma is balanced by the joys and weirdness of everyday life. Friendship and family just may be found in the unlikeliest of places.

The Fifth Season book cover

The Fifth Season

Set in a small coastal town, The Fifth Season is a haunting and intriguing tale about a writer who is pre-occupied with the phenomenon of found people, a mural artist with a missing sister, and an old book that bears a striking resemblance to real life events…

The Fifth Season was longlisted for the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award

The Returns book cover

The Returns

The Returns is a story about the eccentricities, failings and small triumphs that humans are capable of, a novel that pokes fun at literary and artistic pretensions, while celebrating the expansiveness of art, kindness and friendship. 

The Returns was a finalist in the 2020 Miles Franklin Award

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There is no greater honour than to be genuinely marginal, out of the way, not part of a powerful institution, your own person, alive

– Caryl Emerson, writer and critic