Judges' report

Elizabeth Tan’s extraordinary imagination is on full display in Smart Ovens for Lonely People – a story collection that is astonishingly clever and witty, while also full of piercing insights into contemporary society. As she plays with structure and voice, Tan also explores popular culture and modern technology to great effect, and her futuristic scenarios are well thought out and all too plausible. Food scarcity, environmental destruction, capitalist bureaucracy and misogyny are just some of the ideas explored in the collection – in tales that feature mermaids, devious cats, and mangled ‘90s ballads. 

Impressively, Tan never loses sight of the characters at the heart of these stories: their desires and their fears, their relationships and – as alluded to by the title – their loneliness all bring a deep emotional resonance to this stunning collection. Smart Ovens for Lonely People is a profound delight.