2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Winners Announced

AAR Tara June Winch The Yield - courtesy of Penguin Random HouseThe State Library of NSW has announced the winners of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, with a total of $295,000 awarded across 12 prizes.

“Congratulations to this year’s winners whose words have engaged, educated and inspired us,” said NSW Premier, The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP. “The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have recognised and supported outstanding literary achievement since 1979 and it’s fantastic to have the opportunity to welcome today’s winners into the history books. All of us could do with an added dose of inspiration and stimulation during these most challenging times.”

Established in 1979, the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have a proud history, both in celebrating achievement by Australian writers and in helping to establish values and standards in Australian literature, and have recognised hundreds of talented Australian writers: novelists, poets, playwrights, script writers, translators, and authors of non-fiction and children’s books.

Past winners have included such notable writers as Peter Carey, David Malouf AO, Elizabeth Jolley, Thomas Keneally AO and Helen Garner.

“This year’s winners tell important stories in challenging and provocative ways. Masters of their craft, the winning writers ask us to confront complex histories and reflect with honesty and compassion on our present and possible futures,” said Senior Judge, Jane McCredie. “As judges and writers, we thank the Premier for her ongoing support for these awards and the work writers do in holding a mirror to our society.”

The 2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Award Winners are:

Book of the Year ($10,000)
The Yield by Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000)
The Yield by Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000 – sponsored by UTS)
Real Differences by SL Lim (Transit Lounge)

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction ($40,000)
Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon by Patrick Mullins (Scribe Publications)

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)
Enfolded in the Wings of a Great Darkness by Peter Boyle (Vagabond Press)

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000)
Ella and the Ocean by Lian Tanner and Jonathan Bentley (Allen & Unwin)

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000)
Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin)

Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting ($30,000)
Counting and Cracking by S. Shakthidharan, Associate Writer Eamon Flack (Belvoir and Co-Curious)

Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting ($30,000)
Missing by Kylie Boltin (SBS)
The Cry (Episode 2) by Jacquelin Perske (Synchronicity Films)

Multicultural NSW Award ($20,000)
The Pillars by Peter Polites (Hachette Australia)

Indigenous Writer’s Prize ($30,000) – biennial award
The White Girl by Tony Birch (University of Queensland Press)

People’s Choice Award
The Yield by Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)

“There’s probably never been a better time to be a writer – and a reader,” said State Librarian John Vallance. “We at the Library are delighted that the Premier continues to support these important awards, and that we can continue to administer them.”

The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards are administered by the State Library of NSW in association with Create NSW. The State Library acknowledges the sponsorship of Multicultural NSW and the University of Technology Sydney. For more information, visit: www.sl.nsw.gov.au for details.

Image: The Yield by Tara June Winch – courtesy of Penguin Random House