The judges praised Arnott’s novel for boldly building on the historical fact of white Australia’s destructive exploitation of the land, “to imagine and present us with a skilfully narrated, symbolic as well as grounded tale of the role of personal ambition and private gain in this continent’s fate”.

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Children’s author Suzanne Leal won $30,000 for the children and young adult category of the award, for her World War II novel The Year We Escaped, and Emily Maguire won $5000 for being the first winner in the new readers’ choice category for Rapture.

Previous winners include Melissa Lucashenko, Tom Keneally, and Katrina Nannestad. This is the first time the prize has been jointly awarded, the judges stating that they don’t see that outcome as a problem, but rather “a moment for celebration of the sheer diversity of this year’s winners and of the individual achievements of our two winners”.

As Arnott, who said he was thrilled to be sharing the prize, said, “things are always nicer when they’re shared, aren’t they?”