Close to the Subject: Selected Works

Judges' comments

Close to the Subject is a collection of non-fiction essays spanning Daniel Browning’s 20-year career as a journalist. Browning presents an extraordinary archive of writings that sit strong at the nexus of storytelling and journalism. His culturally grounded perspectives offer enriching insights into Aboriginal broadcast and material culture in particular.

This book contains multiple recurring throughlines, such as the politics surrounding public monuments (both black and white) and the politics of cultural critique. Many of the essays are wonderful deep dives into histories of art, identity and queerness – sometimes unearthing hidden histories in the process. By reading this book the judges learned so much about our people and also about the art of critique itself. As a whole, the book is an incisive commentary that speaks with searing insight to the many ways in which culture, politics, identity and injustice intersect across the lives of First Nations people.