You would assume the split results in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards meant the judges could not agree in this already contentious year. And you'd be right. In a first for the awards set up by Kevin Rudd, three of the six $80,000 prizes were presented to joint winners by Tony Abbott in Melbourne on Monday: the fiction prize was shared by Richard Flanagan for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Steven Carroll  for A World of Other People; the history prize went to Broken Nation by Joan Beaumont and Australia's Secret War by Hal G.P. Colebatch; the co-winners of the non-fiction prize were Gabrielle Carey for Moving Among Strangers and Helen Trinca for Madeleine.

The history and non-fiction panel chaired by Gerard Henderson with Peter Coleman, Ross Fitzgerald, Ida Lichter and Ann Moyal, was unanimous on both shortlists. However, historian Moyal told Undercover she was "totally against" giving an award to Colebatch's "poorly constructed and poorly written" book about union efforts to undermine Australian troops in World War II. She said she was responsible for putting Beaumont's World War I book on the shortlist, as well as Clare Wright's Eureka book, and she proposed Arthur Phillip by Michael Pembroke as her second-choice winner. She also lobbied for Michael Fullilove's Rendezvous with Destiny to win the non-fiction award. But, she said, "There was a clear disposition of the other members of the panel to work as a team". She was disappointed the media was focused on the controversy rather than discussing the quality of the best books. She said she would "never" sit on the judging panel again, and as a retired academic had urged the Ministry for the Arts to engage younger scholars who have published a number of books.

Colebatch's book had been rejected by other publishers before being taken up by Quadrant Books (an offshoot of the conservative Quadrant magazine, once edited by Coleman) and was favourably reviewed by Fitzgerald in February in The Sydney Institute Quarterly, owned by Henderson's organisation; he qualified his praise by saying Colebatch was "half-right" about union opposition to the war. Fitzgerald says he and Henderson proposed the shortlisting of Mike Carlton's naval history First Victory 1914, which Fitzgerald reviewed well for the Herald. Carlton has attacked Colebatch's book as badly researched on Twitter and radio this week.

FACT OR FICTION IN JUDGING

Following news reports that the Prime Minister had intervened to include Flanagan as a winner, Undercover spoke to poet Les Murray, who judged the fiction and poetry with publisher and chair Louise Adler, poets Jamie Grant and Robert Gray, and filmmaker Margie Bryant. "We judges did not mention Richard Flanagan," Murray said. "It was Steven Carroll solo. Suddenly, when the announcement was made, I was thunderstruck to see the Tasmanian pop up."

Murray, poetry editor of Quadrant, said the three poets on the panel each independently favoured Carroll's book because it was "invented, he made up his own story and did not fictionalise a known story; and the language was better. We reckon we know language." Adler had "argued fiercely for" Flanagan's book with Bryant's support, Murray said. "A clear majority of us thought the Flanagan book was superficial, showy and pretentious and we disdained it." He did not know if the Prime Minister had intervened but said, "Something happened behind the scenes. I don't know who pulled strings but the decision we delivered was without strings."

Asked if politics played any part in their choices - Flanagan has been openly critical of the Abbott Government - Murray said, "That is a deeply offensive question. It didn't cross my mind. I don't think about books in that way."

Adler would not discuss the judging process with Undercover but said the judges had debated whether splitting the prize would dissipate its significance; Abbott "was very respectful" of their process. "Les should be reminded the judges' deliberations are in the strictest confidence," she said, but added that the controversy was "terrific publicity" and she hoped everyone would buy all the shortlisted books.

THE YEAR OF RICHARD FLANAGAN

Australian books are on many overseas lists of the year's best books. Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North, also the Man Booker Prize winner, was chosen by The Observer, as was Amnesia by Peter Carey. Flanagan is also among The New York Times' 100 Notable Books, on The Economist's list, and on both the Telegraph and the Independent lists with Fiona McFarlane's The Night Guest. (The Independent declares "a triumphant year for Antipodean fiction" with The Night Guest as "the most striking of debuts" but mistakenly calls McFarlane a New Zealander.) The Miles Franklin winner, All the Birds, Singing by Australian-British Evie Wyld, was picked by The New York Times, Independent and Irish Times. Terry Hayes' thriller I Am Pilgrim made the Houston Chronicle Top 20. Amazon's editorial team read 480 books to choose a Top 100 that includes Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Flanagan. Irish author Colm Toibin also picked Flanagan's novel as one of his favourites, while Bill Gates chose The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion and Sebastian Faulks named The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny.