Winners of 2024 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Announced

The winners of the 2024 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced with She is the Earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann taking out Book of the Year.

The outstanding winning works were selected by 32 judges across 12 prize categories from 834 entries.

NSW Minister for Arts John Graham said the longest running state-funded Awards in the country has celebrated the extraordinary achievements of both established and emerging writers in Australia for 45 years.

“On behalf of the NSW Government, I congratulate this year’s winners and nominees,” Mr Graham said.

“Their exceptional work captivates and entertains readers far and wide.”

State Librarian Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon said the very best literary works had the power to deeply touch and resonate with readers through their lives.

“These prestigious Awards, supported by our Government, showcase the finest offerings of the year and I encourage people to seek them out in their local library or book shop,” Dr Butler-Bowdon said.

The winners of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2024 are:

She is the Earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann (Magabala Books), (also the winner of Indigenous Writers’ Prize);

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000) The Sitter by Angela O’Keeffe (UQP);

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction ($40,000) Ghosts of the Orphanage by Christine Kenneally (Hachette Australia);

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000) Riverbed Sky Songs by Tais Rose Wae (Vagabond Press);

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000) Paradise Sands: A Story of Enchantment by Levi Pinfold (Walker Books Australia);

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000) The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox (Pan Macmillan Australia);

Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting ($30,000) Sex Magick by Nicholas Brown (Griffin Theatre Company/Currency Press);

Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting ($30,000) Safe Home, Episode 1 by Anna Barnes (Kindling Pictures);

Indigenous Writers’ Prize ($30,000) She is the Earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann (Magabala Books);

Multicultural NSW Award ($30,000) Stay for Dinner by Sandhya Parappukkaran, illustrated by Michelle Pereira (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing);

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($10,000 — sponsored by UTS) Anam by André Dao (Penguin Random House Australia); and

University of Sydney People’s Choice Award ($5,000 — sponsored by University of Sydney) The God of No Good by Sita Walker (Ultimo Press).

Senior Judge, Dr Bernadette Brennan said this year’s judges were unanimous in their praise for and excitement about the breadth, depth and brilliance of contemporary Australian writing.

“They were thrilled by the ambition of these works, the preparedness, across all categories, of the writers to take risks and to challenge and reimagine established ideas of genre, voice, subject matter and style,” Dr Brennan said.

“These winners offer just a glimpse of the diversity and range of Australian voices telling the stories we all need to hear.”

• Topics:

• Awards
• Literature / Writing