Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are now open. The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. The awards celebrate the best contemporary Australian writing and are administered by the Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Premier of Victoria.
For the first time ever, all of the awards, including the biennial Award for Indigenous Writing and the Award for an Unpublished Manuscript – will be announced at the same awards ceremony on Thursday 31 January 2019.
The winners of the main suite of awards – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Writing for Young Adults, and the biennial Award for Indigenous Writing – each receive $25,000. The winner of the Award for an Unpublished Manuscript receives $15,000.
The winners of the seven award categories go on to contest the overall Victorian Prize for Literature, worth an additional $100,000. This is the single most valuable literary award in the country.
“Stories are the lifeblood of our culture and our creative industries,” said Minister for Creative Industries, Martin Foley. It’s part of our creative state strategy that we recognise, celebrate and back great writers and writing.”
“That’s why the Victorian Government is proud to offer the most valuable literary prize in the country – the Victorian Prize for Literature – as part of our annual Premier’s Literary Awards. We welcome applications across all categories including the Unpublished Manuscript Award which has an incredible track record of uncovering new Victorian literary talent.”
“The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards give us an annual reminder of the sheer breadth of extraordinary stories, beautifully told, that Victorian readers have enjoyed over the past year,” said Wheeler Centre Director, Michael Williams. “Each of the category winners embodies the best of our local writing and publishing: bold, humane, playful, generous and uncompromising.”
Entries are now open, and close on Monday 1 October. The Awards Shortlist will be announced on Monday 3 December 2018 and the Winner will be announced on Thursday 31 January 2019. The public can also participate in the awards by voting for their favourite work on the shortlist. The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be named alongside the general category winners and will receive $2,000.
Books published between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018 are eligible for entry into the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Books published after close of entries (1 October 2018) can be submitted in PDF format, or as a printed and bound proof. For more information, visit: www.wheelercentre.com for details.