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Queensland government to support state literary awards

Queensland premier and arts minister Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the state government will contribute up to $175,000 annually to the Queensland Literary Awards (QLA), matching up to $125,000 in sponsor and partnership funding and establishing two new awards.

The $25,000 Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance will ‘recognise writing with a Queensland focus, celebrating important Queensland authors, stories, history and voices’, while two $12,500 Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards will be presented to Queensland writers aged 18-30.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, the volunteer-led QLAs were established in 2012 following the axing of the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards by then-premier Campbell Newman. The State Library of Queensland took over the awards in 2014.

In a statement, Palaszcuk praised the effort of the Queensland literary community to establish the QLAs. ‘I applaud the ongoing efforts of the grassroots organisers, sponsors, publishers and supporters who carried the torch to ensure Queensland’s tradition of recognising outstanding writing across many genres would continue,’ said Palaszuk.

The state government will also continue to support three Queensland Writers Fellowships, each worth $20,000.

Entries for all 12 award categories are now open and will close on 19 June. For more information, visit the QLA website here.

 

Category: Local news