South Australian Literary Awards
Proudly brought to you by the State Library of South Australia
The South Australian Literary Awards celebrates South Australia's diverse writing culture by offering national and state-based literary prizes across a range of genres. Three fellowships for South Australian writers are included, highlighting the importance of our unique local writers, supporting the literary community, and contributing to public engagement with literature.
Introduced in 1986, the South Australian Literary Awards are supported by the Government of South Australia through Arts South Australia, and proudly managed by the State Library of South Australia. 2024 heralds a new era for the Awards with the unveiling of a fresh look and new name.
The Premier's Award will be announced at the Award Ceremony in October 2024.
Announcing the shortlist
We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the South Australian Literary Awards. Congratulations and best of luck to the nominees.
9 August 2024
National Awards for Published Works
Fiction Award
$15,000 for a published novel or collection of short stories.
All that's left unsaid
By Tracey Lien
Hydra
By Adriane Howell
Permafrost
By SJ Norman
Non-Fiction Award
$15,000 for a published non-fiction work.
Childhood
By Shannon Burns
Fat girl dancing
By Kris Kneen
I'd rather not
By Robert Skinner
Personal score
By Ellen van Neerven
The ballad of Abdul Wade
By Ryan Butta
Young Adult Fiction Award
$15,000 for a published book of fiction aimed at readers aged 12 to 18 years.
Completely normal (and other lies)
By Biffy James
If you could see the sun
By Ann Liang
Sugar
By Carley Nugent
Children’s Literature Award
$15,000 for a published fiction or non-fiction book aimed at readers up to 11 years.
Being Jimmy Baxter
By Fiona Lloyd
Exit through the gift shop
By Maryam Master
Runt
By Craig Silvey
Scar town
By Tristan Bancks
Stay for dinner
By Sandhya Parappukkaran
The way of dog
By Zana Fraillon
John Bray Poetry Award
$15,000 for a published collection of poetry, in honour of late South Australian poet Dr John Bray.
Acrobat music: new and selected poems
By Jill Jones
At the altar of touch
By Gavin Yuan Gao
Human looking
By Andy Jackson
Hunger and predation
By Pooja Mittal Biswas
The singer and other poems
By Kim Cheng Boey
Awards for South Australian Writers
Jill Blewett Playwright's Award
$12,500 for an un-produced play of any genre written by a professional South Australian playwright. Supported by State Theatre Company South Australia.
Hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s
By Rebecca Meston
Log boy
By Anthony Nocera
Mallee ward
By Michael Hill
Paradise lost
By Melissa-Kelly Franklin
Spare a thought for Jana Wendt
By Nicola Watson
The spoil
By Piri Eddy
Safe
By Nina Pearce
Arts South Australia Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award
$10,000 plus publication by Wakefield Press for an unpublished, book-length manuscript by a South Australian writer.
Boy swimmer
By Gina Inverarity
Catastrophic
By Alastair Sarre
Dear Vincent
By Heather Taylor Johnson
Out of place
By Robin Boord
Salt upon the water
By Lyn Dickens
The tongue is a witch
By Alicia Carter
Fellowships for South Australian Writers
Tankanungku Pintyanthi Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellowship
$15,000 for a South Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writer working in the genres of fiction, literary, non-fiction, poetry and playwriting.
A life half lived
By Karen Wyld
Kali (boomerang)
By Ali Cobby Eckermann
Monologues, poems and ramblings for you, them, us… and me…
By Alexis West
Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship
$15,000 for a South Australian writer working in the areas of fiction, poetry, drama, scriptwriting, autobiography, essays, major histories, literary criticism or other expository or analytical prose. Named in honour of distinguished South Australian writer and visual artist Barbara Hanrahan.
A life half lived
By Karen Wyld
Queen pawn
By Katerina Bryant
Radiance: a state of being
By Molly Murn
Max Fatchen Fellowship
$15,000 for a South Australian writer for young people working in the genres of fiction, drama, poetry or screenwriting, named in honour of author Max Fatchen.
Maisy (working title)
By Allayne Webster
The children of Elphinstone
By James A Cooper
Awards Archive
Premier's Award
National award offered from 1996
- 2022 - The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)
- 2020 - Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)
- 2018 - The Last Garden by Eva Hornung (SA) (Text Publishing)
- 2016 - Figgy in the World by Tamsin Janu (Omnibus Books)
- 2014 - Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse (Vintage Books)
- 2012 - That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Picador)
- 2010 - Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (Allen and Unwin)
- 2008 - Urban Myths: 210 Poems by John Tranter (University of Queensland Press)
- 2006 - Sixty Lights by Gail Jones (Vintage Books)
- 2004 - Wild Surmise by Dorothy Porter (Picador)
- 2002 - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (University of Queensland Press)
- 2000 - Mr Darwin’s Shooter by Roger McDonald (Vintage Books)
- 1998 - The Drowner by Robert Drewe (Pan MacMillan)
- 1996 - The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery (Reed Books)
Fiction Award
National award offered from 1986
- 2022 - The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)
- 2020 - The Death of Noah Glass, Gail Jones (The Text Publishing Company)
- 2018 - The Last Garden by Eva Hornung (SA) (Text Publishing)
- 2016 - To Name Those Lost by Rohan Wilson (Allen & Unwin)
- 2014 - Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse (Vintage Books)
- 2012 - That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Picador)
- 2010 - Ransom by David Malouf (Knopf/Random House)
- 2008 - The Ballad of Desmond Kale by Roger McDonald (Vintage)
- 2006 - Sixty Lights by Gail Jones (Vintage Books)
- 2004 - Moral Hazard by Kate Jennings (Picador)
- 2002 - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (University of Queensland Press)
- 2000 - Mr Darwin’s Shooter by Roger McDonald (Vintage Books)
- 1998 - The Drowner by Robert Drewe (Pan MacMillan)
- 1996 - Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan (McPhee Gribble/Penguin)
- 1994 - Grand Days by Frank Moorhouse (William Heinemann Australia)
- 1992 - The Great World by David Malouf (Chatto & Windus)
- 1990 - Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (UQP)
- 1988 - Julia Paradise by Rod Jones (McPhee Gribble)
- 1986 - The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner (McPhee Gribble)
Non-Fiction Award
National award offered from 1986
- 2022 - Olive Cotton: A Life of Photography, Helen Ennis (HarperCollins Publishers)
- 2020 - The Bible in Australia: A cultural history, Meredith Lake (NewSouth Publishing)
- 2018 - The Boy Behind the Curtain by Tim Winton (WA) (Penguin Books Australia)
- 2016 - What Days Are For by Robert Dessaix (Random House Australia)
- 2014 - Madness: A Memoir by Kate Richards (Viking/Penguin)
- 2012 - An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark by Mark McKenna (The Miegunyah Press)
- 2010 - Stella Miles Franklin by Jill Roe (Fourth Estate/Harper Collins)
- 2008 - Sunrise West by Jacob G Rosenberg (Brandl & Schlesinger)
- 2006 - Velocity by Mandy Sayer (Vintage)
- 2004 - Unearthed: The Aboriginal Tasmanians of Kangaroo Island by Rebe Taylor (Wakefield Press)
- 2002 - Leviathan: the unauthorised biography of Sydney by John Birmingham (Random House)
- 2000 - Joint winners:Throwim Way Leg: An Adventure by Tim Flannery (Text Publishing Company)The Devil and James McAuley by Cassandra Pybus (University of Queensland Press)
- 1998 - Claiming a Continent: A History of Australia by David Day (HarperCollins)
- 1996 - The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery (Reed Books)
- 1994 - Sort of a Place Like Home: Remembering the Moore River Native Settlement by Susan Maushart (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
- 1992 - Patrick White – A Life by David Marr (Random House Australia)
- 1990 - Satura by John Bray (Wakefield Press)
- 1988 - The Myriad Faces of War by Trevor Wilson (Polity/Blackwells)
- 1986 - A History of Prince Alfred College by R M Gibbs (Peacock Publications)
Children's Literature Award
National award offered from 1986
- 2022 - We are Wolves, Katrina Nannestad (HarperCollins Publishers)
- 2020 - Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Jessica Townsend (Hachette Australia)
- 2018 - Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr (NSW) (Allen & Unwin)
- 2012 - Taj and the Great Camel Trek by Rosanne Hawke (University of Queensland)
- 2010 - Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (Allen and Unwin)
- 2008 - Don't Call Me Ishmael! by Michael Gerard Bauer (Omnibus Scholastic)
- 2006 - It’s Not All About You, Calma! by Barry Jonsberg (Allen and Unwin)
- 2004 - Abyssinia by Ursula Dubosarsky (Viking Penguin)
- 2002 - Lirael by Garth Nix (Harper Collins)
- 2000 - Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne (Puffin Penguin)
- 1998 - The Listmaker by Robin Klein (Viking Penguin)
- 1996 - The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden (Pan MacMillan Australia)
- 1994 - Angel’s Gate by Gary Crew (William Heinemann Australia)
- 1992 - The House Guest by Eleanor Nilsson (Viking Penguin)
- 1990 - Beyond the Labyrinth by Gillian Rubinstein (Hyland House)
- 1988 - Space Demons by Gillian Rubinstein (Omnibus Books)
- 1986 - The Long Night Watch by Ivan Southall (Methuen)
Young Adult Fiction Award
National award offered from 2012
- 2022 - The Gaps, Leanne Hall (Text Publishing)
- 2020 - Small Spaces, Sarah Epstein (Walker Books Australia)
- 2018 - My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier (NSW) (Allen & Unwin)
- 2016 - Are You Seeing Me? by Darren Groth (Random House Australia)
- 2014 - Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing)
- 2012 - All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing)
John Bray Poetry Award
National award offered from 1986
- 2022 - Fifteeners, Jodie Albiston (Puncher & Wattmann)
- 2020 - Archival-Poetics, Natalie Harkin (Vagabond Press)
- 2018 - Missing up by Pam Brown (NSW) (Vagabond Press)
- 2016 - Waiting for the Past by Les Murray (Black Inc.)
- 2014 - The Sunlit Zone by Lisa Jacobson (5 Islands Press)
- 2012 - Taller When Prone by Les Murray (Black Inc.)
- 2010 - The Other Way Out by Bronwyn Lea (Giramondo poets)
- 2008 - Urban Myths: 210 Poems by John Tranter (University of Queensland Press)
- 2006 - Totem by Luke Davies (Allen Unwin)
- 2004 - Wild Surmise by Dorothy Porter (Picador)
- 2002 - Around Here by Cath Kenneally (Wakefield Press)
- 2000 - The Harbour by Dimitris Tsaloumas (UQP)
- 1998 - The Blue Cloud of Crying by Peter Boyle (Hale & Ironmonger)
- 1996 - The Silo: A Pastoral Symphony by John Kinsella (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
- 1994 - Between Glances by Andrew Lansdown (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
- 1992 - Last Poems by Vincent Buckley (McPhee Gribble)
- 1990 - Bone Scan by Gwen Harwood (Angus & Robertson)
- 1988 - The Daylight Moon by Les A Murray (Angus & Robertson)
- 1986 - Selected Poems - 1963–1983 by Robert Gray (Angus & Robertson)
Jill Blewett Playwright's Award
South Australian award offered from 1992
- 2022 - Calendar Days, Peter Beaglehole
- 2020 - Forgiveness, Piri Eddy
- 2018 - 19 weeks by Emily Steel
- 2016 - Cut by Duncan Graham AND Blessed by Fleur Kilpatrick (joint winners)
- 2014 - Replay by Philip Kavanagh
- 2012 - A Cathedral by Nicki Bloom
- 2010 - This Place by Nina Pearce
- 2008 - Merger - art, life and the other thing by Duncan Graham
- 2006 - This Uncharted Hour by Finegan Kruckemeyer
- 2004 - Beautiful Words: A Trilogy by Sean Riley
- 2002 - Small Faith by Josh Tyler
- 2000 - Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves & Christos Tsiolkas
- 1998 - Wolf Lullaby by Hilary Bell
- 1996 - Because You Are Mine by Daniel Keene
- 1994 - Sweetown by Melissa Reeves
- 1992 - Bran Nue Dae by Jimmy Chi
Arts South Australia Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award
South Australian award offered from 1998
- 2022 - The Comforting Weight of Water, Roanna McClelland
- 2020 - In the Room with the She Wolf, Jelena Dinic
- 2018 - A New Name for the Colour Blue by Annette Marner
- 2016 - Mallee Boys by Charlie Archbold
- 2014 - Here Where We Live by Cassie Flanagan-Willanski
- 2012 - The First Week by Margaret Merilees
- 2010 - End of the Night Girl by Amy T Matthews
- 2008 - The Second Fouling Mark by Stephen Orr
- 2006 - The Quakers by Rachel Hennessy
- 2004 - Goddamn Bus of Happiness by Stefan Laszczuk
- 2002 - The Black Dream by Corrie Hosking
- 2000 - No winner
- 1998 - Counting The Rivers by Pearlie McNeil
Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship
South Australian award offered from 1994
- 2022 - Rachael Mead
- 2020 - Aidan Coleman
- 2018 - Jude Aquilina
- 2016 - Carol Lefevre
- 2014 - Jennifer Mills
- 2012 - Nicki Bloom
- 2010 - Patrick Allington
- 2008 - Steve Evans
- 2006 - Mike Ladd
- 2004 - Kirsty Brooks
- 2002 - Graham Rowlands
- 2000 - Jan Owen
- 1998 - Cath Kenneally
- 1996 - Moya Costello
- 1994 - Barry Westburg
Max Fatchen Fellowship
South Australian award offered from 1988
- 2022 - Poppy Nwosu
- 2020 - Sally Heinrich
- 2018 - Danielle Clode
- 2016 - Marianne Musgrove
- 2014 - Helen Dinmore
- 2012 - Janeen Brian
- 2010 - Nicole Plüss
- 2008 - Rosanne Hawke
- 2006 - Christine Harris
- 2004 - Marguerite Hann-Syme
- 2002 - Ruth Starke
- 2000 - Ian Bone
- 1998 - Phil Cummings
- 1996 - Chris Tugwell
- 1994 - Peter McFarlane
- 1992 - Anne Brookman
- 1990 - Anne-Marie Mykyta
- 1988 - Geoff Goodfellow
Tankanungku Pintyanthi Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellowship
South Australian award offered from 2014
- 2022 - Kare Wyld for Lovely's Valley
- 2020 - no applications received
- 2018 - Edoardo Crismani
- 2016 - Ali Cobby Eckermann for Too Afraid to Cry
- 2014 - Ali Cobby Eckermann for Hopes Crossing
The Mayne Award for multi-media - formerly the Faulding Award for Multimedia
Award offered from 1998 to 2004
- 2004 - Concatenation by Geniwate
- 2002 - Poems in a Flash @ The Stalking Tongue website Jayne Fenton Keane and David Keane
- 2000 - Carrier by Melinda Rackham
- 1998 - FlightPaths: Writing Journeys by Julie Clarke, Rob Finlayson, Tom Gibson, Denise Higgins, Berni M Janssen, Nazid Kimmie and Adrian Marshall
Innovation Award
Award offered from 2004 to 2010
- 2010 - Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane (Giramondo)
- 2008 - Someone Else: Fictional Essays by John Hughes (Giramondo)
- 2006 - <More or Less> 1-100 by MTC Cronin (Shearsman Books)
- 2004 - The Eastern Slope Chronicle by Ouyang Yu (Brandl and Schlesinger)
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