Talented writers from across the country are set to dominate reading lists this summer with the announcement the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards Shortlist.
The 2023 shortlist celebrates 27 impressive works by Australian authors, poets and playwrights who will be eligible to win awards across seven categories, including: fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry, Indigenous writing, writing for young adults and unpublished manuscripts.
The shortlist includes works by formerly detained academic Kylie-Moore Gilbert, Torres Strait Islander dramatist John Harvey, artist Matt Ottley, and Melbourne-based fiction writers Jessica Au, Paul Dalla Rosa, and Sophie Cunningham.
The list comprises stories exploring memory, family, power and class with settings ranging from modern day rural Australia to World War 1-era Greece and colonial Sri Lanka.
Emerging Victorian authors will vie for the Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, a $15,000 accolade which has helped launch the careers of authors such as Maxine Beneba Clarke (Foreign Soil), Jane Harper (The Dry) and Graeme Simsion (The Rosie Project).
Literature lovers can have their say on the best book published in 2022 by casting a vote for their favourite work. The most popular work will be crowned the winner of the People’s Choice Award, a separate prize worth $2000. Previous People’s Choice Award winners include Hannah Kent (Burial Rites) and Bri Lee (Eggshell Skull).
Inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985, the Awards are responsible for distributing more than $267,0000 annually, including the single richest literary prize in Australia - the Victorian Prize for Literature.
To explore all shortlisted entrants, highly commended works and to vote for the People’s Choice Award, visit wheelercentre.com.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Melbourne on Thursday 2 February 2023.
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are administered by the Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Victorian Government.
Victorian Premier’s Literary Award Shortlist 2023
Drama
- The Return by John Harvey (Malthouse Theatre)
- Golden Blood 黄金血液 by Merlynn Tong (Currency Press in association with Griffin Theatre Company)
- Whitefella Yella Tree by Dylan Van Den Berg (Currency Press in association with Griffin Theatre Company)
Fiction
- Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au (Giramondo Publishing)
- The Signal Line by Brendan Colley (Transit Lounge)
- This Devastating Fever by Sophie Cunningham (Ultimo Press)
- An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life by Paul Dalla Rosa (Allen & Unwin)
- Salonika Burning by Gail Jones (Text Publishing)
- The Lovers by Yumna Kassab (Ultimo Press)
Indigenous Writing
- Harvest Lingo by Lionel Fogarty (Giramondo Publishing)
- Astronomy by Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli (Thames & Hudson Australia)
- The Upwelling by Lystra Rose (Hachette Australia)
- Tell Me Again by Amy Thunig (University of Queensland Press)
Non-fiction
- Childhood: A Memoir by Shannon Burns (Text Publishing)
- Root & Branch: Essays on inheritance by Eda Gunaydin (NewSouth)
- Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong by Louisa Lim (Text Publishing)
- The Uncaged Sky: My 804 Days in an Iranian Prison by Kylie Moore-Gilbert (Ultimo Press)
- People Who Lunch: essays on work, leisure and loose living by Sally Olds (Upswell Publishing)
- Our Members Be Unlimited: a comic about workers and their unions by Sam Wallman (Scribe Publications)
Poetry
- Clean by Scott-Patrick Mitchell (Upswell Publishing)
- Fugitive by Simon Tedeschi (Upswell Publishing)
- At The Altar of Touch by Gavin Yuan Gao (University of Queensland Press)
Unpublished Manuscript
- Stillwater by Amy Brown
- One Divine Night by Mick Cummins
- Bright Objects by Ruby Todd
Young Adult Writing
- We Who Hunt The Hollow by Kate Murray (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness by Matt Ottley (Dirt Lane Press/WestWords)
- Where You Left Us by Rhiannon Wilde (University of Queensland Press)
Highly Commended
Drama
- An Indigenous Trilogy – Act I: Three Magpies Perched in a Tree by Glenn Shea (The Storyteller)
- Orange Thrower by Kirsty Marillier (Currency Press in association with Griffin Theatre Company)
Fiction
- Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
- All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien (HQ Fiction: An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
- Loveland by Robert Lukins (Allen & Unwin)
Indigenous Writing
- Cartwarra or what? by Alf Taylor (Magabala Books)
- Masked Histories: Turtle Shell Masks and Torres Strait Islander People by Leah Liu-Chivizhe (Melbourne University Publishing)
Non-fiction
- Big Beautiful Female Theory by Eloise Grills (Affirm Press)
- Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper (Scribner Australia an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia)
- Hard Labour: wage theft in the age of inequality by Ben Schneiders (Scribe Publications)
Poetry
- Song of Less by Joan Flemming (Cordite)
- Harvest Lingo by Lionel Fogarty (Giramondo Publishing)
Young Adult
- My Spare Heart by Jared Thomas (Allen & Unwin)
- Sugar by Carly Nugent (Text Publishing)