The NSW Premier's Literary Awards Shortlist

Contemporary works by leading and emerging Australian writers have been shortlisted for the 2018 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, the State Library of NSW announced today.

Thirty judges considered almost 600 entries across 10 prize categories, with the winners to be announced as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival on Monday 30 April 2018. $295,000 in prize money will be awarded, making them the richest state-funded literary awards in the country.

NSW Premier, The Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP, said: “The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have a proud history of recognising and rewarding outstanding Australian writing since 1979. The quality and diversity of this year’s shortlisted works make for compelling reading, and I encourage everyone to enjoy and learn from the works of these talented writers.”

2018 Senior Judge, Suzanne Leal, commented that whether they’re “reconsidering the history of the powerful or bringing to life the voices of the disenfranchised, the forgotten and the unknown, the nominees have produced stunning works that are lyrical and poetic, bold and defiant, witty and empathetic.”

There are two categories for young readers, The Patricia Wrighton Prize for Children’s Literature, and the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature. The shortlisted titles for each are below:

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

The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke and illustrated by Van T Rudd (Hachette Australia)

The Elephant by Peter Carnavas (University of Queensland Press)

Blossom by Tamsin Janu (Omnibus Books for Scholastic Australia)

Figgy Takes the City by Tamsin Janu (Omnibus Books for Scholastic Australia)

The Sorry Tale of Fox and Bear by Margrete Lamond and illustrated by Heather Vallance (Dirt Lane Press)

How to Bee by Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)

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

In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black (Hardie Grant Egmont)

The Blue Cat by Ursula Dubosarsky (Allen & Unwin)

The Ones that Disappeared by Zana Fraillon (Hachette Australia)

A Shadow’s Breath by Nicole Hayes (Penguin Random House Australia)