From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Literary prizes in Victoria, Australia
Literary prizes in Victoria, Australia
The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary prize with the top winner receiving 125,000 and category winners 25,000 each.
The awards were established in 1985 by John Cain, Premier of Victoria, to mark the centenary of the births of Vance and Nettie Palmer, two of Australia's best-known writers and critics who made significant contributions to Victorian and Australian literary culture.
From 1986 till 1997, the awards were presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival. In 1997 their administration was transferred to the State Library of Victoria. By 2004, the total prize money was 180,000. In 2011, stewardship was taken over by the Wheeler Centre.
Winners 2011–present
Beginning in 2011, the awards were restructured into five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Drama and Young People's. The winner of each receives $25,000. Of those five winners, one is chosen as the overall winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature and receives an additional $100,000. There are two other categories with different prize amounts: an honorary People's Choice Award voted on by readers, and an Unpublished Manuscript Award with a prize amount of $15,000. Another category was added in 2024, the John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing, honouring satirist John Clarke, for fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Shortlists are maintained in the main article for each category.
Victorian Prize for Literature
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| That Deadman Dance | title="Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2011" | publisher= The Wheeler Centre | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2011-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date= 26 May 2024}} | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ** | title="Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2012" | publisher= The Wheeler Centre | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2012-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date= 26 May 2024}} | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liquid Nitrogen | date=2014 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2014 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2014-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ** | date=2015 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2015-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Broken | date=2016 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2016-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Drover's Wife | date=2017 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2017-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ** | date=2018 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2018-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison | date=2019 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2019-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| with Eamon Flack | Counting and Cracking | date=2020 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2020 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2020-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | |||||||||||||||||||
| date=2021 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2021 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2021-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience | date=2022 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2022 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2022-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cold Enough for Snow | date=2023 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2023 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2023-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | access-date=26 May 2024 | work=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese Fish | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards/past-awards/2024-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 | publisher=Wheeler Centre | access-date=2 February 2024}} | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Three Dresses | last=Story | first=Hannah | date=2025-03-19 | title=Growing up, Wanda got old dresses for Xmas. Her book about it just won $125k | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-19/wanda-gibson-victorian-prize-for-literature-three-dresses/105053764 | access-date=2025-03-19 | work=ABC News | language=en-AU}} |
Fiction
Main article: Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction
For winners from 1985 to 2010, see Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| That Deadman Dance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Foal's Bread | ||||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coal Creek | ||||||||||||||||||
| To Name Those Lost | ||||||||||||||||||
| The World Without Us | ||||||||||||||||||
| Between a Wolf and a Dog | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australia Day | ||||||||||||||||||
| The Madonna of the Mountains | ||||||||||||||||||
| Damascus | ||||||||||||||||||
| Melissa Manning | Smokehouse | |||||||||||||||||
| Cold Enough for Snow | ||||||||||||||||||
| Edenglassie | ||||||||||||||||||
| Highway 13 |
Nonfiction
Main article: Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction
For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An Eye for Eternity: The Life Of Manning Clark | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Forgotten War | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Something for the Pain | ||||||||||||||||||
| Offshore: Behind the Wire on Manus | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Body Count: How Climate Change Is Killing Us | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Root & Branch: Essays on Inheritance | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity | ||||||||||||||||||
| Susan Hampton | Anything Can Happen |
Poetry
Main article: Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry
For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Armour | ||||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Liquid Nitrogen | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crankhandle | ||||||||||||||||||
| Carrying the World | ||||||||||||||||||
| Argosy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tilt | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nganajungu Yagu | ||||||||||||||||||
| Case Notes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Trigger Warning | ||||||||||||||||||
| At the Altar of Touch | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese Fish | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gawimarra: Gathering |
Writing for Young Adults
Main article: Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults
For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | ||||||||||||||||||
| My Life as an Alphabet | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||||
| Welcome to Orphancorp | ||||||||||||||||||
| When Michael met Mina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Living on Hope Street | ||||||||||||||||||
| and Ezekiel Kwaymullina | Catching Teller Crow | |||||||||||||||||
| How It Feels to Float | ||||||||||||||||||
| Metal Fish, Falling Snow | ||||||||||||||||||
| Girls in Boys' Cars | ||||||||||||||||||
| We Who Hunt the Hollow | ||||||||||||||||||
| A Hunger of Thorns | ||||||||||||||||||
| Anomaly |
Drama
Main article: Victorian Premier's Prize for Drama
For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the Louis Esson Prize for Drama.
| Year | Author | Title | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do not go gentle… | |||||||||||||||||
| ** | |||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | |||||||||||||||||
| Savages | |||||||||||||||||
| Resplendence | |||||||||||||||||
| Broken | |||||||||||||||||
| The Drover's Wife | |||||||||||||||||
| Rice | |||||||||||||||||
| ** | |||||||||||||||||
| with Eamon Flack | Counting and Cracking | ||||||||||||||||
| Wonnangatta | |||||||||||||||||
| Milk | |||||||||||||||||
| The Return | |||||||||||||||||
| and Eamon Flack | The Jungle and the Sea | ||||||||||||||||
| 37 |
People's Choice Award
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Into The Woods: The Battle for Tasmania's Forests | ||||||||||||||||||
| National Interest | ||||||||||||||||||
| Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Burial Rites | ||||||||||||||||||
| Where Song Began | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fever of Animals | ||||||||||||||||||
| When Michael met Mina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ida | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eggshell Skull | ||||||||||||||||||
| The Girls | ||||||||||||||||||
| Witness | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tiger Daughter | ||||||||||||||||||
| and Krystal De Napoli | Astronomy: Sky Country | |||||||||||||||||
| The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World | ||||||||||||||||||
| I'd Rather Not |
Unpublished Manuscript
Main article: Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award
For winners from 2003 to 2010, see the main article. No award was presented in 2011.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Soil | ||||||||||||||||
| Fever of Animals | ||||||||||||||||
| ** | ||||||||||||||||
| Australia Day | ||||||||||||||||
| Decay Theory | ||||||||||||||||
| Kokomo | ||||||||||||||||
| Hovering | ||||||||||||||||
| Anam | ||||||||||||||||
| Fauna of Mirrors | ||||||||||||||||
| One Divine Night | ||||||||||||||||
| Panajachel | ||||||||||||||||
| I Made This Just for You |
Indigenous Writing
Main article: Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Her Sister's Eye | last= | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards – Prize for Indigenous Writing | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v1284 | access-date=2021-02-25 | website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories | language=en}}''''' | |||||||||||||||||
| Swallow the Air | ****** | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anonymous Premonition | ****** | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legacy | ****** | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Am I Black Enough For You? | date=5 September 2012 | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing: Winner and Shortlist Announced | url=http://wheelercentre.com/dailies/post/270d65202728/ | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223033422/http://wheelercentre.com/dailies/post/270d65202728/ | archive-date=23 February 2014 | publisher=Wheeler Centre | accessdate=14 February 2014}}'' | |||||||||||||||
| Mullumbimby | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ghost River | title=Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/projects/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards-2017 | access-date=1 May 2018 | website=The Wheeler Centre | archive-date=28 April 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428185650/https://www.wheelercentre.com/projects/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards-2017 | url-status=dead }} | ||||||||||||||||
| Taboo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tell Me Why: The Story of My Life and My Music | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Upwelling | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Close to the Subject: Selected Works | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Black Witness |
Children's Literature
John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I'd Rather Not |
Defunct award categories (1985–2010)
From 1985 to 2010 prizes were offered in some or all of the below categories.
- Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction
- Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction
- Prize for Young Adult Fiction
- C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry
- Louis Esson Prize for Drama
- Alfred Deakin Prize for an Essay Advancing Public Debate (after Alfred Deakin)
- Prize for Science Writing (biennial)
- Village Roadshow Prize for Screen Writing
- Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia
- John Curtin Prize for Journalism
- Prize for Best Music Theatre Script
- Prize for Indigenous Writing (Biennial)
- Prize for a First Book of History (Biennial)
- Dinny O'Hearn Prize for Literary Translation (Triennial)
- A.A. Phillips Prize for Australian Studies
- Alan Marshall Prize for Children's Literature
- Prize for First Fiction
Notes
References
- Steger, Jason. (January 28, 2014). "Liquid Nitrogen poet Jennifer Maiden wins Australia's richest literature prize". Sydney Morning Herald.
- "State Library Victoria".
- Sanders, Zora. (April 21, 2011). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards to be the Richest in Australia". Meanjin.
- (2022-10-24). "VPLAs add children's award".
- (2024-09-16). "New prize for humour writing added to VPLAs". Books+Publishing.
- ""Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2011"". The Wheeler Centre.
- ""Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2012"". The Wheeler Centre.
- (2014). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2014". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2015). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2016). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2017). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2018). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2019). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2020). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2020". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2021). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2021". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2022). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2022". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- (2023). "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2023". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.
- "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024". [[Wheeler Centre]].
- Story, Hannah. (2025-03-19). "Growing up, Wanda got old dresses for Xmas. Her book about it just won $125k". ABC News.
- (2013-06-12). "The Rosie Project".
- "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards – Prize for Indigenous Writing".
- (5 September 2012). "Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing: Winner and Shortlist Announced". Wheeler Centre.
- Hornbeck, Susan. (4 September 2014). "Congratulations to Melissa Lucashenko: Victorian Premier's Literary Awards".
- "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report