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]

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
2016[6]	The Life of Houses by Lisa Gorton and The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood	On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics by Sheila Fitzpatrick, and Thea Astley: Inventing her own Weather by Karen Lamb	A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay	Sister Heart by Sally Morgan	The Hazards by Sarah Holland-Batt	The Story of Australia's People. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia by Geoffrey Blainey, and Let My People Go: The untold story of Australia and the Soviet Jews 1959–89 by Sam Lipski and Suzanne D Rutland
2017[7]	Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O'Neill	Quicksilver by Nicolas Rothwell	Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley	Home in the Rain by Bob Graham, and Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr	Headwaters by Anthony Lawrence	Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga Story by Elizabeth Tynan
2018[8]	Border Districts by Gerald Murnane	Asia's Reckoning by Richard McGregor	This Is My Song by Richard Yaxley	Pea Pod Lullaby by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King	Blindness and Rage: A Phantasmagoria by Brian Castro	John Curtin's War: The coming of war in the Pacific, and reinventing Australia, volume 1 by John Edwards
2019[9]	The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones	The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History by Meredith Lake	The Things That Will Not Stand by Michael Gerard Bauer	His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda	Sun Music: New and Selected Poems by Judith Beveridge	Half the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955–1964 by Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell
2020[10]	The Yield by Tara June Winch	Songspirals: Sharing Women's Wisdom of Country through Songlines by Gay'Wu Group of Women and Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson	How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox	Cooee Mittigar: A Song on Darug Songlines by Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson (illustrator)	The Lost Arabs by Omar Sakr	Meeting the Waylo: Aboriginal Encounters in the Archipelago by Tiffany Shellam

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.^[11]

2008 fiction panel[] Peter Pierce, academic (chair) John Marsden, author Margaret Throsby, broadcaster

2008 non-fiction panel[] Hilary Charlesworth, academic (chair) Sally Morgan, indigenous artist and author John Doyle, comedian and script writer

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.^[11] 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.^[12]

2009 fiction panel[] Professor Peter Pierce (chair) Professor John A. Hay AC Dr Lyn Gallacher

2009 non-fiction panel[] Phillip Adams AO (chair) Peter Rose Professor Joan Beaumont FASSA

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.^[13] 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.^[14]

2010 fiction panel[] The 2009 fiction panel returned in 2010: Professor Peter Pierce (chair) Professor John A. Hay AC Dr Lyn Gallacher

2010 non-fiction panel[] Brian Johns AO (chair) Colin Steele Dr Faye Sutherland

2010 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright (chair) Mike Shuttleworth Mary-Ruth Mendel

2010 shortlist and winners[]

From over 330 entries, the 2010 shortlist of 29 titles was announced on 15 July 2010.^[15] The winners were announced on 8 November 2010.^[16]

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.^[17]

2011 shortlist and winners[]

From 379 entries, the 2011 shortlist of 20 titles was announced on 26 May 2011.^[18] The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 8 July 2011.^[19]

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.^[20] The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 23 July 2012.^[21][22]

2012 panels[]

The panels for the 2012 awards consist of:

2012 fiction and poetry panel[] Joel Becker (chair) Dr Lyn Gallacher Professor Chris Wallace-Crabbe AM Peter Craven

2012 non-fiction and history panel[] Christopher (Chris) Masters PSM (chair) Dr Faye Sutherland Colin Steele Dr Michelle Arrow

2012 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Judith White (chair) Mary-Ruth Mendel Robert (Bob) Sessions

2012 shortlist and winners[]

From 509 entries, the 2012 shortlist of 25 titles was announced on 20 March 2012.^[23][24]

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:^[25]

2013 fiction and poetry panel[] Joel Becker (chair) Professor Chris Wallace-Crabbe AM Professor Philip Mead Jane Sullivan

2013 non-fiction and history panel[] Michael Sexton SC (chair) Colin Steele Susan Hayes Professor Susan Magarey

2013 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Judith White (chair) Adele Rice Robert (Bob) Sessions

2013 shortlist and winners[]

The 2013 shortlist of 29 titles was announced on 17 June 2013.^[26] The winners, listed below in bold type, were announced on 15 August 2013 at the State Library of Queensland.^[27]

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.^[28]

2014 panels[]

The panels for the 2014 awards consist of:^[29]

2014 fiction and poetry panel[] Louise Adler (chair) Jamie Grant Margie Bryant Les Murray Robert Gray

2014 non-fiction and history panel[] Gerard Henderson (chair) Peter Coleman Ross Fitzgerald Ida Lichter Ann Moya

2014 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Mike Shuttleworth (chair) Belle Alderman Kate Colley Mark MacLeod Irini Savvides

2014 shortlist and winners[]

The 2014 shortlist of 30 titles was announced on 19 October 2014.^[30]

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

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.^[31]

2015 panels[]

The panels for the 2015 awards consist of:^[32]

2015 fiction and poetry panel[] Louise Adler (chair) Des Cowley Jamie Grant Robert Gray

2015 non-fiction and history panel[] Ida Litcher (chair) Peter Coleman Ross Fitzgerald Gerard Henderson

2015 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Mike Shuttleworth (chair) Belle Alderman Kate Colley Mark MacLeod Irini Savvides

2015 shortlist and winners[]

The 2015 shortlist of 30 titles was announced on 23 November 2015.^[33] 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.^[34] The winners were announced on 9 November 2015.^[35]

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

2017 awards[]

2017 shortlist and winners[]

The 2017 shortlist of 30 titles from more than 450 entries was announced on 17 November 2017.^[36] The winners were announced on 1 December.^[37]

2017 panels[]

The panels for the 2017 awards consist of:^[38]

2017 fiction and poetry panel[] Bronwyn Lea (chair) Kathy Shand James Ley Susan Wyndham Sarah Holland-Batt

2017 non-fiction and history panel[] Lynette Russell (chair) Helen Trinca Richard Waterhouse Greg Melleuish Sally Warhaft

2017 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Margot Hillel (chair) Joy Lawn Margrete Lamond Robyn Ewing Sue Whiting

2017 fiction[]

• The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam
• The Last Days of Ava Langdon by Mark O'Flynn
• Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O'Neill
• Waiting by Philip Salom
• Extinctions by Josephine Wilson

2017 poetry[]

• Painting Red Orchids by Eileen Chong
• Year of the Wasp by Joel Deane
• Content by Liam Ferney
• Fragments by Antigone Kefala
• Headwaters by Anthony Lawrence

2017 non-fiction[]

• Mick: A Life of Randolph Stow by Suzanne Falkiner
• The Art of Time Travel: Historians and their Craft by Tom Griffiths
• Our Man Elsewhere: In Search of Alan Moorehead by Thornton McCamish
• Quicksilver by Nicolas Rothwell
• The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art by Sebastian Smee

2017 Prize for Australian History[]

• 'A passion for exploring new countries' Matthew Flinders and George Bass by Josephine Bastian
• Valian for Truth: The Life of Chester Wilmot, War Correspondent by Neil McDonald
• Evatt: A Life by John Murphy
• Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga Story by Elizabeth Tynan
• A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off by Charlie Ward

2017 young adult fiction[]

• Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
• The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
• The Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard
• Forgetting Foster by Dianne Touchell
• One Would Think Deep by Claire Zorn

2017 children's fiction[]

• Home in the Rain by Bob Graham (joint winners)
• Blue Sky, Yellow Kite by Janet A. Holmes, illustrator: Jonathan Bentley
• My Brother by Dee Huxley, illustrator: Oliver Huxley
• Figgy and the President by
• Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr (joint winners)

2018 awards[]

2018 shortlist and winners[]

The 2018 shortlist of 30 titles from more than 500 entries was announced on 17 October 2018.^[39] The winners were announced on 5 December 2018.^[40]

2018 panels[]

The panels for the 2018 awards consist of:^[38]

2018 fiction and poetry panel[] Bronwyn Lea (chair) Kathy Shand James Ley Susan Wyndham Sarah Holland-Batt

2018 non-fiction and history panel[] Lynette Russell (chair) Helen Trinca Richard Waterhouse Greg Melleuish Sally Warhaft

2018 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Margot Hillel (chair) Joy Lawn Kerry Neary Robyn Ewing Sue Whiting

2018 fiction[]

• A Long Way from Home by Peter Carey
• Border Districts by Gerald Murnane
• First Person by Richard Flanagan
• Taboo by Kim Scott
• The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser

2018 poetry[]

• Archipelago by Adam Aitken
• Blindness and Rage: A Phantasmagoria by Brian Castro
• Chatelaine by Bonny Cassidy
• Domestic Interior by Fiona Wright
• Transparencies by Stephen Edgar

2018 non-fiction[]

• Asia's Reckoning by Richard McGregor
• Mischka's War: A European Odyssey of the 1940s by Sheila Fitzpatrick
• No Front Line: Australia's Special Forces at War in Afghanistan by Chris Masters
• The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders by Stuart Kells
• Unbreakable by Jelena Dokic and Jessica Halloran

2018 Prize for Australian History[]

• Beautiful Balts: From Displaced Persons to New Australians by Jayne Persian
• Hidden in Plain View: The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney by Paul Irish
• Indigenous and Other Australians Since 1901 by Timothy Rowse
• John Curtin's War: The coming of war in the Pacific, and reinventing Australia, volume 1 by John Edwards
• The Enigmatic Mr Deakin by Judith Brett

2018 young adult fiction[]

• Living on Hope Street by Demet Divaroren
• My Lovely Frankie by Judith Clarke
• Ruben by Bruce Whatley
• The Ones that Disappeared by Zana Fraillon
• This Is My Song by Richard Yaxley

2018 children's fiction[]

• Feathers by Phil Cummings and Phil Lesnie
• Figgy Takes the City by Tamsin Janu
• Hark, It's Me, Ruby Lee! by Lisa Shanahan and Binny Talib
• Pea Pod Lullaby by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King
• Storm Whale by Sarah Brennan and Jane Tanner

2019 awards[]

2019 shortlist and winners[]

The 2019 shortlist of 30 titles from more than 500 entries was announced on 12 September 2019.^[41] On 23 October the winners were announced at a ceremony in Canberra.^[42]

2019 fiction[]

• A Stolen Season by Rodney Hall
• Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
• Saudade by Suneeta Peres da Costa
• The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones
• Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

2019 poetry[]

• Blakwork by Alison Whittaker
• Click Here For What We Do by Pam Brown
• Newcastle Sonnets by Keri Glastonbury
• Sun Music: New and Selected Poems by Judith Beveridge
• Viva the Real by Jill Jones

2019 non-fiction[]

• A Certain Light: A Memoir of Family, Loss and Hope by Cynthia Banham
• Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin
• Half the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955–1964 by Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell
• Rusted Off: Why Country Australia Is Fed Up by Gabrielle Chan
• The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire by Chloe Hooper

2019 Prize for Australian History[]

• Dancing in Shadows: Histories of Nyungar Performance by Anna Haebich
• Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia by Billy Griffiths
• The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History by Meredith Lake
• The Land of Dreams: How Australians Won Their Freedom, 1788–1860 by David Kemp
• You Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World by Clare Wright

2019 young adult fiction[]

• Between Us by Clare Atkins
• Cicada by Shaun Tan
• Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee
• The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot
• The Things That Will Not Stand by Michael Gerard Bauer

2019 children's fiction[]

• His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda
• Sonam and the Silence by Eddie Ayres, illustrated by Ronak Taher
• The Feather by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Freya Blackwood
• The Incredible Freedom Machines by Kirli Saunders, illustrated by Matt Ottley
• Waiting for Chicken Smith by David Mackintosh

2020 awards[]

The 2020 awards were announced on 22 January 2020; entries had to be submitted by 28 February 2020.^[43]

2020 panels[]

The panels for the 2020 awards consist of:^[38]

2020 fiction and poetry panel[] Suzanne Leal (chair) Susan Wyndham Kerryn Goldsworthy Philip Mead Lucy Neave

2020 non-fiction and history panel[] Richard Waterhouse (chair) Sally Warhaft John Fitzgerald John Maynard

2020 children's and young adult fiction panel[] Margot Hillel (chair) Margrete Lamond Kirli Saunders James Roy Demet Divaroren

2020 shortlist and winners[]

The 2020 shortlist of 30 titles from 562 entries received was announced on 13 November 2020.^[44][45] The winners were announced on 10 December.^[46]

2020 fiction[]

• The Death of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee
• Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany
• Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar
• The Yield by Tara June Winch
• The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

2020 poetry[]

• Heide by П. O.
• The Future Keepers by Nandi Chinna
• Empirical by Lisa Gorton
• Birth Plan by L. K. Holt
• The Lost Arabs by Omar Sakr

2020 non-fiction[]

• The Enchantment of the Long-haired Rat by Tim Bonyhady
• Songspirals: Sharing Women's Wisdom of Country through Songlines by Gay'Wu Group of Women
• See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill
• Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson
• Hearing Maud: A Journey for a Voice by Jessica White (about Rosa Campbell Praed's daughter)

2020 Australian history[]

• From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting by Judith Brett
• Progressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and Transpacific Exchange Shaped American Reform by Marilyn Lake
• Sludge: Disaster on Victoria's Goldfields by Susan Lawrence and Peter Davies
• The Oarsmen: The Remarkable Story of the Men Who Rowed from the Great War to Peace by Scott Patterson
• Meeting the Waylo: Aboriginal Encounters in the Archipelago by Tiffany Shellam

2020 young adult fiction[]

• The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
• How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
• The Honeyman and the Hunter by Neil Grant
• When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn
• This Is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield

2020 children's fiction[]

• Cheeky Dogs: To Lake Nash and Back by Dion Beasley and Johanna Bell (illustrator)
• One Careless Night by Christina Booth
• Winter of the White Bear by Martin Ed Chatterton
• Catch a Falling Star by Meg McKinlay
• Cooee Mittigar: A Song on Darug Songlines by Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson (illustrator)

References[]

External links[]

• Official website