NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2024 shortlists announced

The shortlists for the 2024 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced.

Shortlisted titles in each category are:

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000)

• The Sun Walks Down (Fiona McFarlane, A&U)
• Prima Facie (Suzie Miller, Picador)
• The Sitter (Angela O’Keeffe, UQP)
• Shirley (Ronnie Scott, Hamish Hamilton)
• The Crying Room (Gretchen Shirm, Transit Lounge)
• Praiseworthy (Alexis Wright, Giramondo)

Douglas Stewart Prize for Nonfiction ($40,000)

• Childhood (Shannon Burns, Text)
• Ghosts of the Orphanage: A story of mysterious deaths, a conspiracy of silence, and a search for justice (Christine Kenneally, Hachette)
• Here Be Monsters: Is technology reducing our humanity? (Richard King, Monash)
• Our Concealed Ballast (Marian Macken, Vagabond Press)
• Personal Score: Sport, culture, identity (Ellen van Neerven, UQP)
• The God of No Good (Sita Walker, Ultimo)

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)

• Hunger and Predation (Pooja Mittal Biswas, Cordite)
• Moon Wrasse (Willo Drummond, Puncher & Wattmann)
• Burn (Libby Hart, Lepus Print)
• Spore or Seed (Caitlin Maling, Fremantle Press)
• Non-Essential Work (Omar Sakr, UQP)
• Riverbed Sky Songs (Tais Rose Wae, Vagabond Press)

Highly commended

• Like to the Lark (Stuart Barnes, Upswell)
• I Saw the Best Memes of My Generation (Dominic Symes, Recent Work Press)

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000)

• Leaf-light (Trace Balla, A&U Children’s)
• Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth (Anna Fienberg, A&U Children’s)
• The Raven’s Song (Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble, A&U Children’s)
• Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers (Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly, illus Blak Douglas, T&H)
• Paradise Sands: A story of enchantment (Levi Pinfold, Walker Studio)
• Australia: Country of colour (Jess Racklyeft, Affirm)

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000)

• Royals (Tegan Bennett Daylight, S&S)
• Grace Notes (Karen Comer, Lothian)
• The Quiet and the Loud (Helena Fox, Pan)
• We Could Be Something (Will Kostakis, A&U Children’s)
• We Didn’t Think It Through (Gary Lonesborough, A&U Children’s)
• Selfie (Allayne L Webster, Text)

Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting ($30,000)

• Telethon Kid (Alistair Baldwin, Malthouse Theatre)
• don’t ask what the bird look like (Hannah Belanszky, Queensland Theatre)
• Sex Magick (Nicholas Brown, Griffin Theatre Company & Currency Press)
• Unprecedented (Campion Decent, HotHouse Theatre)
• RBG: Of many, one (Suzie Miller, Sydney Theatre Company & Currency Press)
• Blue (Thomas Weatherall, Belvoir St Theatre)

Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting ($30,000)

• Safe Home, Episode 1 (Anna Barnes, Kindling Pictures)
• The Giants (Laurence Billiet & Rachael Antony, General Strike & Matchbox Pictures)
• Late Night with the Devil (Colin Cairnes & Cameron Cairnes, Future Pictures)
• Poor Things (Tony McNamara, Searchlight Pictures & Element Pictures)
• Shayda (Noora Niasari, Origma 45, Dirty Films & Parandeh Pictures)
• The New Boy (Warwick Thornton, Dirty Films & Scarlett Pictures)

Highly commended

• The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Episode 1, ‘Black Fire Orchid’ (Sarah Lambert, Made Up Stories & Amazon Prime)

Indigenous Writers’ Prize ($30,000)

• Close to the Subject: Selected works (Daniel Browning, Magabala)
• She Is the Earth (Ali Cobby Eckermann, Magabala)
• We Didn’t Think It Through (Gary Lonesborough, A&U Children’s)
• Firelight (John Morrissey, Text)
• Personal Score: Sport, culture, identity (Ellen van Neerven, UQP)
• Praiseworthy (Alexis Wright, Giramondo)

Multicultural NSW Award ($30,000)

• Anam (André Dao, Hamish Hamilton)
• The Shape of Dust: A father wrongly imprisoned. A daughter’s quest to free him (Lamisse Hamouda, Pantera)
• Stay for Dinner (Sandhya Parappukkaran, illus Michelle Pereira, Bright Light)
• God Forgets About the Poor (Peter Polites, Ultimo)
• Non-Essential Work (Omar Sakr, UQP)
• Songs for the Dead and the Living (Sara M Saleh, Affirm)

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($10,000)

• Elegy for an Elephant (Ryan Abramowitz, Narratives of Nature)
• the body country (Susie Anderson, Hachette)
• don’t ask what the bird look like (Hannah Belanszky, Queensland Theatre)​​​​​​
• You’ll Never Find Me (Indianna Bell, Stakeout Films)
• Childhood (Shannon Burns, Text)
• Grace Notes (Karen Comer, Lothian)
• Anam (André Dao, Hamish Hamilton)
• as good a woman as ever broke bread (Alex McInnis, Puncher & Wattmann)
• Firelight (John Morrissey, Text)

The University of Sydney People’s Choice Award ($5000)

• Childhood (Shannon Burns, Text)
• Ghosts of the Orphanage: A story of mysterious deaths, a conspiracy of silence, and a search for justice (Christine Kenneally, Hachette)
• Here Be Monsters: Is technology reducing our humanity? (Richard King, Monash)
• Our Concealed Ballast (Marian Macken, Vagabond Press)
• The Sun Walks Down (Fiona McFarlane, A&U)
• Prima Facie (Suzie Miller, Picador)
• The Sitter (Angela O’Keeffe, UQP)
• Shirley (Ronnie Scott, Hamish Hamilton)
• The Crying Room (Gretchen Shirm, Transit Lounge)
• Personal Score: Sport, culture, identity (Ellen van Neerven, UQP)
• The God of No Good (Sita Walker, Ultimo)
• Praiseworthy (Alexis Wright, Giramondo).

Across the 12 prize categories, 32 judges selected the shortlisted works from 834 entries, while the People’s Choice Award voting is now open. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on 20 May.

Category: Awards Local news