Heat and Light

Heat and Light is a 2014 work of fiction by First Nations Australian author Ellen van Neerven. The book contains three stories: "Heat", "Water", and "Light".^[1] It was the winner of the Indigenous Writers Prize at the 2016 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards and was shortlisted for the 2015 Stella Prize.^[2][3]

Heat and Light

Author	Ellen van Neerven
Genre	Fiction
Publisher	University of Queensland Press
Publication date	27 August 2014
Publication place	Australia
Pages	232
ISBN	9780702253218

Reception

Heat and Light received generally positive reviews, with reviewers praising the work as an impressive debut from a promising young writer. In Queensland Review, Jessica Gildersleeve wrote that the book contained innovative narrative experiments and that it spoke to themes of marginalisation and loss.^[4] In Southerly, Kate Livett wrote that the book blurred the traditional line between novel and short story collection and that it was written with impressive confidence and maturity.^[5] A. S. Patrić wrote in Australian Book Review that the work was fresh and imaginative, but that its stories were uneven in quality and did not form a cohesive whole.^[6]

Awards

Awards for Heat and Light

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2016	New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Indigenous Writers Prize	Won	[3]
	Victorian Premier's Literary Awards	Prize for Indigenous Writing	Shortlisted	[7]
2015	Nita Kibble Literary Awards	Dobbie Literary Award	Won	[8]
	The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists	—	Won	[9]
	Queensland Literary Awards	Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance	Shortlisted	[10]
	Readings Prize	New Australian Fiction Prize	Shortlisted	[11]
	New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Glenda Adams Award for New Writing	Shortlisted	[12]
	Stella Prize	—	Shortlisted	[2]
2013	Queensland Literary Awards	David Unaipon Award	Won	[13]