Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd Ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[1]
The awards were designed as "a new initiative celebrating the contribution of Australian literature to the nation's cultural and intellectual life." The awards are held annually and initially provided a tax-free prize of A$100,000 in each category, making it Australia's richest literary award in total. In 2011, the prize money was split into $80,000 for each category winner and $5,000 for up to four short-listed entries. The award was initially given in four categories – fiction, non-fiction, young adult and children's fiction – as selected by three judging panels. In 2012, a poetry category was added and the former Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History was incorporated into the award. "The awards are open to works written by Australian citizens and permanent residents. Authors, publishers and literary agents are eligible to enter works, first published in the calendar year prior to the awards."[2]
Previous winners
Year | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Young Adult Fiction | Children's Fiction | Poetry | Australian History |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | The Zookeeper's War by Steven Conte | Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers by Philip Jones | NA | NA | NA | NA |
2009 | The Boat by Nam Le | House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly-Kroeger Mann by Evelyn Juers and
Drawing the Global Colour Line by Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds |
NA | NA | NA | NA |
2010 | Dog Boy by Eva Hornung | The Colony: A History of Early Sydney by Grace Karskens | Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God by Bill Condon | Star Jumps by Lorraine Marwood | NA | NA |
2011 | Traitor by Stephen Daisley | The Hard Light of Day by Rod Moss | Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley | Shake a Leg by Boori Monty Pryor and Jan Ormerod | NA | NA |
2012 | Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears | An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark by Mark McKenna | When We Were Two by Robert Newton | Goodnight, Mice!, written by Frances Watts and illustrated by Judy Watson | Interferon Psalms by Luke Davies | The Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage |
2013[3] | Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser | The Australian Moment by George Megalogenis | Fog a Dox by Bruce Pascoe | Red by Libby Gleeson | Jam Tree Gully: Poems by John Kinsella | Farewell, Dear People by Ross McMullin |
2014[4] | A World of Other People by Steven Carroll and The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan | Moving Among Strangers by Gabrielle Carey and Madeleine: A Life of Madeleine St John by Helen Trinca | The Incredible Here and Now by Felicity Castagna | Silver Buttons by Bob Graham | Drag Down to Unlock or Place an Emergency Call by Melinda Smith | Broken Nation: Australians in the Great War by Joan Beaumont and Australia's Secret War: How Unionists Sabotaged Our Troops in World War II by Hal G.P. Colebatch |
2015[5] | The Golden Age by Joan London | John Olsen: An Artist's Life by Darleen Bungey and Wild Bleak Bohemia: Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay Gordon and Henry Kendall by Michael Wilding | The Protected by Claire Zorn | One Minute's Silence by David Metzenthen and illustrated by Michael Camilleri | Poems 1957-2013 by Geoffrey Lehmann | Charles Bean by Ross Coulthart and The Spy Catchers - The Official History of ASIO Vol 1 by David Horner |
2008 awards
2008 panels
For the inaugural 2008 awards, six Australians were appointed by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts to the judging panels: three each for the fiction and non-fiction awards.[6]
2008 fiction panel
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2008 non-fiction panel
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2008 shortlist and winners
The final decisions on the shortlist and winners for the awards was made by Prime Minister (Kevin Rudd) based on the judging panels’ recommendations.[6] The following entries, out of more than 170 received, were selected for the shortlist:[1]
- Listed in official shortlist order; winners in bold type.
2008 fiction
- Burning In by Mireille Juchau
- El Dorado by Dorothy Porter
- Jamaica : a novel by Malcolm Knox
- Sorry by Gail Jones
- The Complete Stories by David Malouf
- The Widow and Her Hero by Tom Keneally
- The Zookeeper's War by Steven Conte
2008 non-fiction
- A History of Queensland by Raymond Evans
- Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time by Clive James
- My Life as a Traitor by Zarah Ghahramani with Robert Hillman
- Napoleon: The Path to Power, 1769–1799 by Philip Dwyer
- Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers by Philip Jones
- Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
- Vietnam: the Australian War by Paul Ham
2009 awards
2009 panels
On 15 May 2009 the panels for the 2009 awards were announced.[7]
2009 fiction panel
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2009 non-fiction panel
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2009 shortlist and winners
The 2009 shortlist from more than 250 entries was announced on Friday 18 September 2009 in Melbourne. The winners were announced on 2 November 2009.[8] Two works shared the non-fiction award.
- Listed in official shortlist order; winners in bold type.
2009 fiction
- The Pages by Murray Bail
- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
- Wanting by Richard Flanagan
- Everything I Knew by Peter Goldsworthy
- One Foot Wrong by Sofie Laguna
- The Boat by Nam Le
- The Good Parents by Joan London
2009 non-fiction
- Van Diemen's Land by James Boyce
- Doing Life: A Biography of Elizabeth Jolley by Brian Dibble
- Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History by Jenny Hocking
- The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper
- House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly-Kroeger Mann by Evelyn Juers
- Drawing the Global Colour Line by Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds
- The Henson Case by David Marr
- American Journeys by Don Watson
2010 awards
On 30 March 2010 two new award categories were announced: "young adults' fiction" and "children's fiction". The prize for both new awards was also $100,000; its entries were judged by one judging panel.
2010 panels
On 14 May 2010 the panels for the 2010 awards were announced.[9]
2010 fiction panelThe 2009 fiction panel returned in 2010:
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2010 non-fiction panel
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2010 children's and young adult fiction panel
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2010 shortlist and winners
From over 330 entries, the 2010 shortlist of 29 titles was announced on 15 July 2010.[10] The winners were announced on 8 November 2010.[11]
- Listed in official shortlist order; winners in bold type.
2010 fiction
- Summertime by J. M. Coetzee
- The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster
- The Lakewoman by Alan Gould
- Dog Boy by Eva Hornung
- Ransom by David Malouf
- Lovesong by Alex Miller
- As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong
2010 non-fiction
- The Water Dreamers: The Remarkable History of Our Dry Continent by Michael Cathcart
- Strange Places: A Memoir of Mental Illness by Will Elliott
- The Colony: A History of Early Sydney by Grace Karskens
- The Life and Death of Democracy by John Keane
- The Blue Plateau: A Landscape Memoir by Mark Tredinnick
- The Ghost at the Wedding by Shirley Walker
2010 young adult fiction
- Stolen by Lucy Christopher
- The Winds of Heaven by Judith Clarke
- Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God by Bill Condon
- The Museum of Mary Child by Cassandra Golds
- Swerve by Phillip Gwynne
- Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen
- Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams
2010 children's fiction
- Cicada Summer by Kate Constable
- The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner
- Just Macbeth! by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton
- Mr Chicken Goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs
- Running with the Horses by Alison Lester
- Star Jumps by Lorraine Marwood
- Mannie and the Long Brave Day by Martine Murray, illustrated by Sally Rippin
- Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children by Jen Storer
- Harry and Hopper by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Freya Blackwood
2011 awards
Entries for the 2011 awards opened in January 2011 and an annual timetable was implemented: the shortlist was announced in late May and winners in early July. The awards were restructured to provide greater recognition for shortlisted authors. In each category, the winning book was awarded $80,000; $5,000 was awarded to up to four shortlisted titles. The eligibility criteria were extended to include e-books, and wordless picture books were eligible in the children's fiction category. The panellists from 2010 were returned for 2011.[12]
2011 shortlist and winners
From 379 entries, the 2011 shortlist of 20 titles was announced on 26 May 2011.[13] The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 8 July 2011.[14]
2011 fiction
- Traitor by Stephen Daisley
- Notorious by Roberta Lowing
- When Colts Ran by Roger McDonald
- Glissando by David Musgrave
- That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
2011 non-fiction
- Sydney by Delia Falconer
- How To Make Gravy by Paul Kelly
- The Party by Richard McGregor
- The Hard Light of Day by Rod Moss
- Claude Lévi-Strauss: The Poet in the Laboratory by Patrick Wilcken
2011 young adult fiction
- Good Oil by Laura Buzo
- Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
- The Three Loves of Persimmon by Cassandra Golds
- About a Girl by Joanne Horniman
- The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
2011 children's fiction
- Why I Love Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft
- Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
- Now by Morris Gleitzman
- April Underhill, Tooth Fairy by Bob Graham
- Shake a Leg by Boori Monty Pryor and Jan Ormerod
2012 awards
The 2012 awards were launched in early December 2011; entries closed on 1 February 2012. A new award for poetry was announced and the Prize for Australian History was incorporated.[15] The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 23 July 2012.[16][17]
2012 panels
The panels for the 2012 awards consist of:
2012 fiction and poetry panel
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2012 non-fiction and history panel
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2012 children's and young adult fiction panel
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2012 shortlist and winners
From 509 entries, the 2012 shortlist of 25 titles was announced on 20 March 2012.[18][19]
2012 fiction
- All That I Am by Anna Funder
- Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville
- Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears
- Autumn Laing by Alex Miller
- Forecast: Turbulence by Janette Turner Hospital
2012 poetry
- Ashes in the Air by Ali Alizadeh
- Interferon Psalms by Luke Davies
- Armour by John Kinsella
- Southern Barbarians by John Mateer
- New and Selected Poems by Gig Ryan
2012 non-fiction
- A Short History of Christianity by Geoffrey Blainey
- Michael Kirby Paradoxes and Principles by Alexander Jonathan (A. J.) Brown
- Kinglake-350 by Adrian Hyland
- When Horse Became Saw by Anthony Macris
- An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark by Mark McKenna
2012 Prize for Australian History
- 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia by James Boyce
- The Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage
- Breaking the Sheep's Back by Charles Massy
- Indifferent Inclusion: Aboriginal people and the Australian Nation by Russell McGregor
- Immigration Nation: The Secret History of Us by Renegade Films Australia
2012 young adult fiction
- A Straight Line to My Heart by Bill Condon
- Being Here by Barry Jonsberg
- Pan's Whisper by Sue Lawson
- When We Were Two by Robert Newton
- Alaska by Sue Saliba
2012 children's fiction
- Evangeline, The Wish Keeper's Helper by Maggie Alderson
- The Jewel Fish of Karnak by Graeme Base
- Father's Day by Anne Brooksbank
- Come Down, Cat!, written by Sonya Hartnett and illustrated by Lucia Masciullo
- Goodnight, Mice!, written by Frances Watts and illustrated by Judy Watson
2013 awards
The 2013 awards were launched in late 2012; entries closed on 17 January 2013.
2013 panels
The panels for the 2013 awards consist of:[20]
2013 fiction and poetry panel
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2013 non-fiction and history panel
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2013 children's and young adult fiction panel
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2013 shortlist and winners
The 2013 shortlist of 29 titles was announced on 17 June 2013.[21] The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 15 August 2013 at the State Library of Queensland.[22]
2013 fiction
- Floundering by Romy Ash
- The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey
- Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser
- Lost Voices by Christopher Koch
- Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany
2013 poetry
- Burning Rice by Eileen Chong
- The Sunlit Zone by Lisa Jacobson
- Jam Tree Gully: Poems by John Kinsella
- Liquid Nitrogen by Jennifer Maiden
- Crimson Crop by Peter Rose
2013 non-fiction
- Bradman's War by Malcolm Knox
- Uncommon Soldier by Chris Masters
- Plein Airs and Graces by Adrian Mitchell
- The Australian Moment by George Megalogenis
- Bold Palates by Barbara Santich
2013 Prize for Australian History
- The Sex Lives of Australians: A History by Frank Bongiorno
- Sandakan by Paul Ham
- Gough Whitlam by Jenny Hocking
- Farewell, dear people by Ross McMullin
- The Censor's Library by Nicole Moore
2013 young adult fiction
- Everything Left Unsaid by Jessica Davidson
- The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett
- Grace Beside Me by Sue McPherson
- Fog a Dox by Bruce Pascoe
- Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield
2013 children's fiction
- Red by Libby Gleeson
- Today We Have No Plans by Jane Godwin and illustrated by Anna Walker
- What's the Matter, Aunty May? by Peter Friend and illustrated by Andrew Joyner
- The Beginner's Guide to Revenge by Marianne Musgrove
2014 awards
The 2014 awards were launched in December 2013; entries closed on 28 February 2014. The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 8 December 2014.[23]
2014 panels
The panels for the 2014 awards consist of:[24]
2014 fiction and poetry panel
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2014 non-fiction and history panel
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2014 children's and young adult fiction panel
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2014 shortlist and winners
The 2014 shortlist of 30 titles was announced on 19 October 2014.[25]
2014 fiction
- A World of Other People by Steven Carroll (joint winner)
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (joint winner)
- The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
- Coal Creek by Alex Miller
- Belomor by Nicolas Rothwell
2014 poetry
- Tempo by Sarah Day
- Eldershaw by Stephen Edgar
- 1953 by Geoff Page
- Drag Down to Unlock or Place an Emergency Call by Melinda Smith
- Chains of Snow by Jakob Ziguras
2014 non-fiction
- Moving Among Strangers by Gabrielle Carey (joint winner)
- The Lucky Culture by Nick Cater
- Citizen Emperor by Philip Dwyer
- Rendezvous with Destiny by Michael Fullilove
- Madeleine: A Life of Madeleine St John by Helen Trinca (joint winner)
2014 Prize for Australian History
- Broken Nation: Australians in the Great War by Joan Beaumont (joint winner)
- First Victory 1914 by Mike Carlton
- Australia's Secret War: How Unionists Sabotaged Our Troops in World War II by Hal G.P. Colebatch (joint winner)
- Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy by Michael Pembroke
- The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright
2014 young adult fiction
- The Incredible Here and Now by Felicity Castagna
- Pureheart by Cassandra Golds
- Girl Defective by Simmone Howell
- Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil
- The First Third by Will Kostakis
2014 children's fiction
- Silver Buttons by Bob Graham
- Song for a Scarlet Runner by Julie Hunt
- My Life as an Alphabet by Barry Jonsberg
- Kissed by the Moon by Alison Lester
- Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
2015 awards
The 2015 awards were launched in December 2014; entries closed on 28 February 2015.[26]
2015 panels
The panels for the 2015 awards consist of:[27]
2015 fiction and poetry panel
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2015 non-fiction and history panel
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2015 children's and young adult fiction panel
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2015 shortlist and winners
The 2015 shortlist of 30 titles was announced on 23 November 2015.[28] The winners were announced in Sydney on 14 December 2015.[5]
2015 fiction
- Amnesia by Peter Carey
- In Certain Circles by Elizabeth Harrower
- Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett
- The Golden Age by Joan London
- To Name Those Lost by Rohan Wilson
2015 poetry
- Devadatta's Poems by Judith Beveridge
- Earth Hour by David Malouf
- Exhibits of the Sun by Stephen Edgar
- Poems 1957-2013 by Geoffrey Lehmann
- Towards the Equator: New & Selected Poems by Alex Skovron
2015 non-fiction
- Encountering the Pacific: In the Age of Enlightenment by John Gascoigne
- John Olsen: An Artist's Life by Darleen Bungey
- Private Bill by Barrie Cassidy
- This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner
- Wild Bleak Bohemia: Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay Gordon and Henry Kendall by Michael Wilding
2015 Prize for Australian History
- Charles Bean by Ross Coulthart
- Descent into Hell by Peter Brune
- Menzies at War by Anne Henderson
- The Europeans in Australia—Volume Three: Nation by Alan Atkinson
- The Spy Catchers — The Official History of ASIO Vol 1 by David Horner
2015 young adult fiction
- Are You Seeing Me? by Darren Groth
- The Astrologer's Daughter by Rebecca Lim
- The Minnow by Diana Sweeney
- The Protected by Claire Zorn
- Tigers on the Beach by Doug MacLeod
2015 children's fiction
- My Dad is a Bear by Nicola Connelly and illustrated by Annie White
- My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald and illustrated by Freya Blackwood
- One Minute's Silence by David Metzenthen and illustrated by Michael Camilleri
- Two Wolves by Tristan Bancks
- Withering-by-Sea by Judith Rossell
2016 awards
2016 shortlist and winners
The 2016 shortlist of 30 titles was announced on 17 October 2016.[29] The winners were announced on 9 November 2015.[30]
2016 fiction
- Forever Young by Steven Carroll
- The Life of Houses by Lisa Gorton
- The World Repair Video Game by David Ireland
- Quicksand by Steve Toltz
- The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
2016 poetry
- Net Needle by Robert Adamson
- Cocky's Joy by Michael Farrell
- The Hazards by Sarah Holland-Batt
- Waiting for the Past by Les Murray
- The Ladder by Simon West
2016 Prize for Australian History
- The Story of Australia's People. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia by Geoffrey Blainey
- Let My People Go: The untold story of Australia and the Soviet Jews 1959–89 by Sam Lipski and Suzanne D Rutland
- Red Professor: The Cold War Life of Fred Rose by Peter Monteath and Valerie Munt
- Ned Kelly: A Lawless Life by Doug Morrissey
- The War with Germany: Volume III – The Centenary History of Australia and the Great War by Robert Stevenson
2016 non-fiction
- Tom Roberts and the Art of Portraiture by Julie Cotter
- On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics by Sheila Fitzpatrick
- Thea Astley: Inventing her own Weather by Karen Lamb
- Second Half First by Drusilla Modjeska
- Island Home by Tim Winton
2016 children's fiction
- Adelaide's Secret World by Elise Hurst
- Sister Heart by Sally Morgan
- Perfect by Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood
- The Greatest Gatsby: A visual book of grammar by Tohby Riddle
- Mr Huff by Anna Walker
2016 young adult fiction
- Becoming Kirrali Lewis by Jane Harrison
- Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01 by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay
- In Between Days by Vikki Wakefield
- Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson
References
- 1 2 Call for entries (22 February 2008)
- ↑ PM Literary Awards
- ↑ "2013 PM's Literary Award winners announced". Australian Government - Department of Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- ↑ "2014 PM's Literary Award winners announced". Australian Government - Department of Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- 1 2 "2015 Prime Minister's Literary Award winners". Australian Government - Department of Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- 1 2 2008 judging panels
- ↑ Judges for 2009 Prime Minister's literary awards (media release), 15 May 2009, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
- ↑ "2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards winners"
- ↑ 2010 judging panels
- ↑ 2010 Shortlist
- ↑ 2010 Prime Minister’s Literary Award winners
- ↑ "2011 Prime Minister's Literary Awards"
- ↑ 2011 Shortlist
- ↑ "Prime Minister's Literary Awards – 2011 Winners announced". Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ↑ "Poets and Historians to be Honoured in Literary Awards", Prime Minister of Australia, 1 December 2011
- ↑ "Mears win's PM's literary award for Foal's Bread". Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ↑ "Prime Minister's Literary Awards". Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ↑ "Prime Minister's Literary Awards attract record entries", Media release 20 March 2012
- ↑ "2012 shortlists"
- ↑ Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2013 judging panels
- ↑ "2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlists Announced"
- ↑ "2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award winners", Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport
- ↑ Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2014 winners
- ↑ Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2014 judging panels
- ↑ 2014 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists
- ↑ Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2015 entry guidelines
- ↑ Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2015 judging panels
- ↑ 2015 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists
- ↑ 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlist announced
- ↑ This year's winners and shortlist