Michael Cathcart has won the Colin Roderick Award for his book The Water Dreamers. The award was announced last night in Townsville.

This important work of environmental and cultural history, written in the personable, informative style that has made Cathcart so popular on ABC Radio National, has been hailed by critics as a ‘rollicking yarn and scholarly essay…an archaeology of our national psyche’.

The prestigious Colin Roderick Award was founded in 1967 by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at James Cook University. It is awarded to a work of literary merit that deals with some aspect of Australian life. Past winners include Peter Temple for The Broken Shore, Thea Astley and Peter Carey.

Congratulations to Michael on this great win. And keep your fingers crossed for this coming Monday, 8 November, when the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are announced. The Water Dreamers is shortlisted in the non-fiction category.