Creative Australia has today unveiled the shortlists for the 2024 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the richest literary prize in the nation. The awards celebrate the exceptional talents of emerging and established Australian writers, illustrators, poets, and historians.
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards acknowledge the contribution of Australian literature to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life. This marks the second year Creative Australia has delivered the awards, following the release of the Australian Government’s 2023 National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place.
Reflecting on the significance of the awards, CEO Adrian Collette AM said:
“Stories are the heartbeat of our culture, connecting us to our past, illuminating our present and shaping our future. The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards celebrate the storytellers who enrich our lives with their creativity and outstanding talent.”
Creative Australia received an impressive 533 entries across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history.
Expert judging panels have carefully considered entries for the awards to select the final shortlists, including:
Australian History
- Donald Horne: A Life in the Lucky Country by Ryan Cropp (La Trobe University Press)
- Bee Miles By Rose Ellis (Allen & Unwin)
- Bennelong and Phillip: A History Unravelled by Kate Fullagar (Scribner)
- Killing for Country: A Family Story by David Marr (Black Inc)
- Courting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law by Alecia Simmonds (La Trobe University Press)
Fiction
- Anam by André Dao (Penguin Random House)
- Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville (Text Publishing)
- Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko (University of Queensland Press)
- The Carnal Fugues by Catherine McNamara (Puncher and Wattmann)
- Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)
Non-Fiction
- Close to the Subject: Selected Works by Daniel Browning (Magabala Books)
- Eventually Everything Connects by Sarah Firth (Allen & Unwin)
- Graft: Motherhood, Family and a Year on the Land by Maggie MacKellar (Penguin Random House)
- A Kind of Confession by Alex Miller (Allen & Unwin)
- A Clear Flowing Yarra by Harry Saddler (Affirm Press)
Poetry
- In the Photograph by Luke Beesley (Giramondo Publishing)
- The Cyprian by Amy Crutchfield (Giramondo Publishing)
- She is the Earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann (Magabala Books)
- Golden Bridge: New Poems by Jennifer Maiden (Quemar Press)
- The Drama Student by Autumn Royal (Giramondo Publishing)
Young Adult
- Grace Notes by Karen Comer (Hachette Australia)
- Welcome to Sex by Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis (Allen & Unwin)
- We Didn’t Think It Through by Gary Lonesborough (Allen & Unwin)
- A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)
Children’s Literature
- Etta and the Shadow Taboo by Jared Field and Jeremy Worrall (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- Ghost Book by Remy Lai (Allen & Unwin)
- Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin)
- Millie Mak the Maker by Alice Pung & Sher Rill Ng (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Tamarra: A Story of Termites on Gurindji Country by Violet Wadrill; Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal; Leah Leaman; Cecelia Edwards; Cassandra Algy; Felicity Meakins; Briony Barr and Gregory Crocetti (Hardie Grant Explore)
The winners of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards will be announced on Thursday 12 September at a prestigious ceremony held at the National Library of Australia in Canberra. The winners and shortlisted authors will share in a tax-free prize pool of $600,000, the highest amount for a literary award in Australia. Each shortlisted entry will receive $5,000 with the winner of each category receiving $80,000.
For more information on the shortlists, including judging panel comments, please visit: Prime Minister's Literary Awards on the Creative Australia website. Join the conversation by using our hashtag #PMLitAwards.
Media contacts:
For interviews with shortlisted authors:
Debbie McInnes, Director DMCPR Media
Mobile: 0412 818 071
Email: debbie@dmcpr.com.au
For Creative Australia enquiries:
Brianna Roberts, Media Manager, Creative Australia
Mobile: 0498 123 541
Email: brianna.roberts@creative.gov.au
More information:
About the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were established in 2008 to recognise individual excellence and the contribution that Australian authors make to the nation's cultural and intellectual life in the categories of non-fiction and fiction. In 2010 the young adult and children's literature categories were introduced, followed by poetry in 2012 and the inclusion of the pre-existing Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History.
Previous winners of the award include Michelle de Kretser, Tara June Winch, Omar Sakr, Gerald Murnane, Nam Le, Judith Brett and Jessica Au.
About Creative Australia
Creative Australia is the Australian Government’s principal arts investment and advisory body.
With artists at the heart of what we do, we invest in creative talent and stimulate the market for Australian stories to be told on a national and international scale, sharing our rich culture with
the world. We do this because art and creativity define us, recording what we have been and
what we might yet become. As a nation, creativity connects us and benefits us all.
We are proud of the Australia Council’s 50-year history of investing in First Nations arts and culture and supporting First Nations self-determination. Creative Australia will build on that legacy in 2024 when the inaugural First Nations-led Board will be appointed.
Creative Australia is for the artist.
Creative Australia is for us all.
About the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia holds the world’s largest collection of material relating to Australia and Australians. Its rich collection contains books, artworks, newspapers, maps, rare books, manuscripts, pictures, digital publications and more. The National Library’s vision is to inspire, connect, and empower everyone in the community by making the collection accessible to all.
The National Library offers engaging tours, a changing program of exhibitions, a dynamic array of events and public programs, and access to its Reading Rooms for those seeking knowledge, culture, or simply a place to connect. In addition to this, the National Library has a publishing arm that creates books that tell stories by and about Australians.
The National Library of the Australia is the exclusive presenting partner of Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
Contact details:
For interviews with shortlisted authors:
Debbie McInnes, Director DMCPR Media
Mobile: 0412 818 071
Email: debbie@dmcpr.com.au
For Creative Australia enquiries:
Brianna Roberts, Media Manager, Creative Australia
Mobile: 0498 123 541
Email: brianna.roberts@creative.gov.au
