The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction.
, the Awards are presented by the NSW Government and administered by the State Library of New South Wales in association with Create NSW, with support of Multicultural NSW and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Total prize money in 2019 was up to A$305,000, with eligibility limited to writers, translators and illustrators with Australian citizenship or permanent resident status.
History The NSW Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities. If governments treat writers and artists with respect and understanding, the community will be more likely to do the same." They were the first set of premier's awards offered in Australia.
The awards were not presented in 1998 as the eligibility dates were amended.
Judging The winners of most of the prizes and awards are decided by a judging panel, with no input from Create NSW (former Arts NSW) or the New South Wales Government. The names of each year's judges are not announced until the final winners are decided. The judging has been the subject of controversy in the past, when in 2010, the panel decided not to bestow the Play Award on any of the applicants.
In November 2011, the NSW Government announced a review of the Premier's Literary Awards for 2012. An independent panel, chaired by journalist Gerard Henderson, reviewed both the Literary and the Premier's History Awards, focussed on the governance, selection criteria and judging processes. Following the review, the Awards are managed by the State Library of NSW, in association with Create NSW.
Categories The following prizes and awards are currently given in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.
Christina Stead Prize for Fiction Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature NSW Multicultural Award (formerly Ethnic Affairs Commission Award, Community Relations Commission Award) UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting (formerly the Play Award) Betty Roland Prize for Script Writing (formerly the separate Film, Television and Radio Writing Awards) NSW Premier's Prize for Literary Scholarship People's Choice Award Special Award NSW Premier's Translation Prize Multicultural NSW Early Career Translator Prize Indigenous Writers Prize Gleebooks Prize (currently inactive)
Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
The Christina Stead Prize is awarded for a work of fiction that may be either a novel or a collection of stories. The recipient receives a A$40,000 prize . It is named in honour of Christina Stead, an Australian novelist and short-story writer. The first recipient was David Malouf, who was awarded the Prize for his novella An Imaginary Life in 1979. In 2019 Michelle de Kretser won with The Life to Come and equalled Peter Carey's record of three wins.
Award winners Year Title Author Publisher Ref 1979 An Imaginary Life David Malouf Chatto and Windus, London 1980 War Crimes Peter Carey University of Queensland Press 1981 The Impersonators Jessica Anderson Macmillan 1982 Bliss Peter Carey University of Queensland Press 1983 The Cure Peter Kocan Angus & Robertson 1984 Milk Beverley Farmer McPhee Gribble 1985 Milk and Honey Elizabeth Jolley Fremantle Arts Centre Press 1986 Postcards from Surfers Helen Garner McPhee Gribble 1987 Dancing on Coral Glenda Adams Angus & Robertson 1988 Final Things John Sligo Penguin Books Australia 1989 Broken Words Helen Hodgman Penguin Books Australia 1990 Reaching Tin River Thea Astley William Heinemann Australia 1991 JF Was Here Nigel Krauth Allen & Unwin 1992 The Death of Napoleon Simon Leys Allen & Unwin 1993 Remembering Babylon David Malouf Random House Australia 1994 Seasonal Adjustments Adib Khan Allen & Unwin 1995 Just Like That Lily Brett Pan Macmillan 1996 Leaning Towards Infinity Sue Woolfe Random House Australia 1997 The Drowner Robert Drewe Pan Macmillan Australia 1998 No award 1999 Mr Darwin's Shooter Roger McDonald Random House Australia 2000 The Salt of Broken Tears Michael Meehan Vintage Books/Random House Australia 2001 Conditions of Faith Alex Miller Allen & Unwin 2002 Dirt Music Tim Winton Pan Macmillan Australia 2003 Moral Hazard Kate Jennings Picador 2004 Shanghai Dancing Brian Castro Giramondo Publishing 2005 The Turning Tim Winton Pan Macmillan Australia 2006 The Secret River Kate Grenville Text Publishing 2007 Theft: A Love Story Peter Carey Random House Australia 2008 The Lost Dog Michelle de Kretser Allen & Unwin 2009 The Good Parents Joan London Vintage Books 2010 Summertime J. M. Coetzee Harvill Secker 2011 Lovesong Alex Miller Allen & Unwin 2012 That Deadman Dance Kim Scott Pan Macmillan Australia 2013 Mateship with Birds Carrie Tiffany Pan Macmillan Australia 2014 Questions of Travel Michelle de Kretser Allen & Unwin 2015 The Snow Kimono Mark Henshaw Text Publishing 2016Locust Girl: A Lovesong Merlinda BobisSpinifex Press 2017The Museum of Modern LoveHeather RoseAllen & Unwin 2018 The Book of Dirt Bram Presser Text Publishing 2019The Life to ComeMichelle de KretserAllen & Unwin 2020The YieldTara June WinchPenguin Random House 2021A Room Made of LeavesKate GrenvilleText Publishing 2022Dark as Last NightTony BirchUniversity of Queensland Press 2023Women I KnowKaterina GibsonScribner2024The SitterAngela O'KeeffeUniversity of Queensland Press2025Highway 13Fiona McFarlaneAllen & Unwin2026The ImmigrantsMoreno GiovannoniBlack Inc.
Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction The Douglas Stewart Prize is awarded for a prose work that is not fiction. The recipient receives a A$40,000 prize . It is named in honour of Douglas Stewart, a noted Australian literary editor. The first recipient was Manning Clark, who was awarded the Prize for the fourth volume in his series A History of Australia in 1979. Drusilla Modjeska, with three wins, has won the Prize more than any other individual. In 2019 Billy Griffiths and Sarah Krasnostein were joint winners.
Award winners Year Title Author Publisher Ref 1979 A History of Australia Volume IV Manning Clark Melbourne University Press 1980 Barwick David Marr Allen & Unwin 1981 A Fortunate Life A. B. Facey Fremantle Arts Centre Press 1982 Rebels and Precursors Richard Haese Allen Lane 1983 Robert J. Hawke Blanche d'Alpuget Schwartz Books 1984 The Archibald Paradox Sylvia Lawson Allen Lane 1985 The Moon Man Elsie Webster Melbourne University Press 1986 A Paper Prince George Munster Viking/Penguin Books Australia The Kurnai of Gippsland, Volume One Phillip Pepper with Tess De Araugo Hyland House Publishing 1987 The Irish In Australia Patrick O'Farrell University of New South Wales Press 1988 Louisa Brian Matthews McPhee Gribble 1989 His Mother's Country Maslyn Williams Melbourne University Press 1990 The Snowy Siobhan McHugh William Heinemann Australia 1991 Sitting In Barry Hill William Heinemann Australia Poppy Drusilla Modjeska McPhee Gribble 1992 Patrick White : A Life David Marr Random Century Australia 1993 Robert Menzies Forgotten People Judith Brett Pan Macmillan Australia Put Your Whole Self In Meme McDonald Penguin Books Australia 1994 Australia's Spies and Their Secrets David McKnight Allen & Unwin The Scandalous Penton Patrick Buckridge University of Queensland Press 1995 The Orchard Drusilla Modjeska Pan Macmillan Australia 1996 Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia Tom Griffiths Cambridge University Press 1997 The Europeans in Australia: A History, Volume One Alan Atkinson Oxford University Press 1998 No award 1999 H M Bark Endeavour Ray Parkin Miegunyah Press at Melbourne University Press 2000 Stravinsky's Lunch Drusilla Modjeska Picador/Pan Macmillan Australia 2001 Craft for a Dry Lake Kim Mahood Transworld/ Random House Australia 2002 The Poison Principle Gail Bell Pan Macmillan Australia 2003 Looking for Blackfellas' Point: An Australian History of Place Mark McKenna University of New South Wales Press 2004 Dancing with Strangers Inga Clendinnen Text Publishing 2005 The Idea of Home: autobiographical essays John Hughes Giramondo Publishing 2006 East of Time Jacob G. Rosenberg Brandl & Schlesinger 2007 Things I Didn't Know: a Memoir Robert Hughes Random House Australia 2008 Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica Tom Griffiths University of New South Wales Press 2009 The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island Chloe Hooper Penguin Australia 2010 Kill Khalid: Mossad's failed hit ... and the rise of Hamas Paul McGeough Allen & Unwin 2011 Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs Malcolm Fraser and Margaret Simons Melbourne University Publishing 2012 An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark Mark McKenna Miegunyah, MUP 2013 The Office: A Hard Working History Gideon Haigh Miegunyah 2014 Boy, Lost: A Family Memoir Kristina Olsson University of Queensland Press Rendezvous with Destiny Michael Fullilove Penguin Group (Australia) 2015 The Bush Don Watson Penguin Books Australia 2016 Reckoning: A Memoir Magda Szubanski Text Publishing 2017 Our Man Elsewhere: In Search of Alan Moorehead Thornton McCamish Black Inc 2018 Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth Paul Ham William Heinemann Australia 2019 Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia (joint winner) Billy Griffiths Black Inc. The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay and Disaster (joint winner)Sarah KrasnosteinText Publishing 2020 Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon Patrick Mullins Scribe Publications 2021 The Warrior, the Voyager, and the Artist: Three Lives in an Age of Empire Kate Fullagar Yale University Press 2022 The Winter Road: A Story of Legacy, Land and a Killing at Croppa Creek Kate Holden Black Inc. 2023 We Come With This Place Debra Dank Echo Publishing 2024Ghosts of the OrphanageChristine KenneallyHachette Australia2025Deep WaterJames BradleyHamish Hamilton2026Näku Dhäruk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian DemocracyClare WrightText Publishing
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
The Kenneth Slessor Prize is awarded for a book of poetry, whether collected poems or a single poem of some length, and was first awarded in 1980. The recipient receives a A$30,000 prize . It is named in honour of Kenneth Slessor, a noted Australian poet and journalist. The first recipient was David Campbell, who won the Prize posthumously. In 2011, NSW poet Jennifer Maiden became the only individual to win the award three times.
Award winners