The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and

Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by a ...

publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary prize with the top winner receiving 125,000 and category winners 25,000 each. The awards were established in 1985 by John Cain,

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

, to mark the centenary of the births of Vance and

Nettie Palmer Janet Gertrude "Nettie" Palmer (née Higgins) (18 August 1885 – 19 October 1964) was an Australian poet, essayist and Australia's leading literary critic of her day. She corresponded with women writers and collated the Centenary Gift Book which ...

, two of Australia's best-known writers and critics who made significant contributions to Victorian and Australian literary culture. From 1986 till 1997, the awards were presented as part of the

Melbourne Writers Festival Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. The Festival runs during early September each year. Melbourne Writers Festival is part of the Word Alliance, ...

. In 1997 their administration was transferred to the State Library of Victoria. By 2004, the total prize money was 180,000. In 2011, stewardship was taken over by the

Wheeler Centre The Wheeler Centre, originally Centre of Books, Writing and Ideas, is a literary and publishing centre founded as part of Melbourne's bid to be a Unesco Creative City of Literature, which designation it earned in 2008. It is named after its pat ...

Winners 2011–present

Beginning in 2011, the awards were restructured into 5 categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Drama and Young People's. The winner of each receives $25,000. Of those 5 winners, one is chosen as the overall winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature and receives an additional $100,000. There are two other categories with different prize amounts: an honorary People's Choice Award voted on by readers, and an Unpublished Manuscript Award with a prize amount of $15,000. In 2022 an Award for Children's Literature valued at $25,000 was added, with entries being accepted in 2023. Shortlists are maintained in the main article for each category.

Victorian Prize for Literature

Fiction

For winners from 1985 to 2010, see Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction.

Nonfiction

For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction.

Poetry

For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry.

Writing for Young Adults

For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction.

Drama

For winners from 1985 to 2010, see the Louis Esson Prize for Drama.

People's Choice Award

Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award

For winners from 2003 to 2010, see the main article. No award was presented in 2011.

Prize for Indigenous Writing

Defunct award categories (1985–2010)

From 1985 to 2010 prizes were offered in some or all of the below categories. * Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction * Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction * Prize for Young Adult Fiction * C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry *Louis Esson Prize for Drama *Alfred Deakin Prize for an Essay Advancing Public Debate *Prize for Science Writing (biennial) *Village Roadshow Prize for Screen Writing *Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia *John Curtin Prize for Journalism * Prize for Best Music Theatre Script *Prize for Indigenous Writing (Biennial) *Prize for a First Book of History (Biennial) *Dinny O'Hearn Prize for Literary Translation (Triennial) *A.A. Phillips Prize for Australian Studies *Alan Marshall Prize for Children's Literature *Prize for First Fiction

Notes

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External links

State Library of Victoria
Australian literary awards Australian non-fiction book awards Australian history awards Awards established in 1985 1985 establishments in Australia