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South Australian Literary Awards 2026 shortlist announced

Monday, 7 September 2026   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The 2026 South Australian Literary Awards shortlists have been announced.

The shortlists in selected categories, chosen from 766 entries, are:

Fiction Award ($15,000)

  • Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, University of Queensland Press)
  • Arborescence (Rhett Davis, Hachette Australia)
  • Theory & Practice (Michelle de Kretser, Text Publishing)
  • Wild Dark Shore (Charlotte McConaghy, Penguin)
  • King of Dirt (Holden Sheppard, Pantera Press)

Nonfiction Award ($15,000)

  • The Pulling (Adele Dumont, Scribe Publications)
  • Sweet Nothings (Madison Griffiths, Ultimo Press)
  • Apron-Sorrow / Sovereign-Tea (Natalie Harkin, Wakefield Press)
  • Squat (John Safran, Penguin)
  • Find Me at the Jaffa Gate (Micaela Sahhar, NewSouth Publishing)

Young Adult Fiction Award ($15,000)

  • Eggshell (Olivia De Zilva, Spineless Wonders)
  • Birdy (Sharon Kernot, Text Publishing)
  • This Stays Between Us (Margot McGovern, Penguin)
  • The Pull of the Moon (Pip Smith, UWA Publishing)

Children’s Literature Award ($15,000)

  • Little Bones (Sandy Bigna, University of Queensland Press)
  • Leo and Ralph (Peter Carnavas, University of Queensland Press)
  • The Truck Cat (Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
  • Sundays Under the Lemon Tree (Julia Busuttil Nishimura, illustrated by Myo Yim, Scribble)
  • The Midwatch (Judith Rossell, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)

John Bray Poetry Award ($15,000)

  • The Rot (Evelyn Araluen, University of Queensland Press)
  • We Speak of Flowers (Eileen Chong, University of Queensland Press)
  • Beautiful Changelings (Maxine Beneba Clark, Ultimo Press)
  • Lines of Desire (Paul Dawson, Puncher & Wattmann)
  • G-d, Sleep, and Chaos (Alan Fyfe, Gazebo Books / Life Before Man)

Jill Blewett Playwright’s Award ($12,500)

  • “Tell Me Something” (Mali Harkin-Noack)
  • “Python” (Jamie Hornsby)
  • “Someone You Know” (Anthony Nocera)
  • “Lost Socks & Polka Dots” (Sarah Peters)

CreateSA Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award Shortlist ($10,000)

  • “Former Princess Gracious” (Patrick Allington)
  • “Nala-alati Miyurna pudni” (Jennifer Caruso)
  • “Pugholes” (Tom Gurn)
  • “Disturbances” (Carol Lefevre)
  • “Wash Dirt. Burn Water” (Lara Saunders)

Tangkanungku Pintyanthi Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellowship ($15,000)

  • “Pelican’s Bill” (Dominic Guerrera)
  • Uncle X-Box (Jared Thomas, Magabala Books)

Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship for a South Australian Writer ($15,000)

  • “Heart of Felt” (Aimee Knight)
  • “King Neptune” (Carrie Miller)
  • “Paradise Court” (Olivia De Zilva).

The 2026 awards also introduce the inaugural Carclew Young Writers Awards, recognising six young South Australian writers, while three young writers have been shortlisted for the Carclew Max Fatchen Fellowship.

The winners, who will share a total prize pool of $185,000 and will include the winner of the overall $25,000 Premier’s Award, will be announced at the State Library of South Australia on 5 November.

The South Australian Literary Awards are awarded biennially.

More information and the full shortlists are available on the State Library South Australia website.

 

Category: Awards Local news