| Notes | The award ceremony was held on 23 November 1972.
The shortlisted authors were:
John Berger with the winning novel 'G', published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
Susan Hill with 'Bird of Night', published by Hamish Hamilton,
Thomas Keneally with 'The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith', published by Angus and Robertson, and
David Storey with 'Pasmore', published by Longman,
The Judges were Cyril Connolly (Chair), Elizabeth Bowen, and Dr George Steiner. |