Announcing the shortlists for the 2025 Prime Minister's Literary Awards
Creative Australia
Creative Australia has today revealed the shortlist for the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the richest literary prize in the nation. The awards celebrate the exceptional talents of emerging and established Australian writers, illustrators, poets, and historians.
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards acknowledge the contribution of Australian literature to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life. This marks the third year Creative Australia has delivered the awards, following the release of the Australian Government’s 2023 National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place.
Newly appointed Director, Writing Australia Wenona Byrne said:
“These awards celebrate the highest expression of literary excellence, and we warmly congratulate the shortlisted authors and illustrators on this recognition of their outstanding work.
This year marks the first delivery of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards under Writing Australia. The Awards are a key part of our commitment to supporting the literature sector, and we are proud to celebrate these works as part of a new era in Australian writing.”
Creative Australia received a remarkable 645 entries across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history.
Expert judging panels have carefully considered entries for the awards to select the final shortlists, including:
Fiction
- Always Will Be: Stories of Goori sovereignty from the futures of the Tweed
by Mykaela Saunders (University of Queensland Press) - Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane (Allen & Unwin)
- Juice by Tim Winton (Penguin Random House)
- Rapture by Emily Maguire (Allen & Unwin)
- Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser (Text Publishing)
Non-Fiction
- Cactus Pear for My Beloved by Samah Sabawi (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Deep Water by James Bradley (Penguin Random House)
- Fragile Creatures: A Memoir by Khin Myint (Black Inc.)
- Mean Streak by Rick Morton (HarperCollins Publishers)
- The Pulling by Adele Dumont (Scribe Publications)
Australian History
- Australia in 100 Words by Amanda Laugesen (NewSouth Publishing)
- Critical Care: Nurses on the frontline of Australia's AIDS crisis by Geraldine Fela (NewSouth Publishing)
- Näku Dhäruk The Bark Petitions by Clare Wright (Text Publishing)
- The Wild Reciter: Poetry and Popular Culture in Australia 1890-the Present by Peter Kirkpatrick (Melbourne University Publishing)
- Warra Warra Wai by Darren Rix and Craig Cormick (Scribner Australia, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia)
Poetry
- Companions, Ancestors, Inscriptions by Peter Boyle (Vagabond Press)
- Makarra by Barrina South (Recent Work Press)
- rock flight by Hasib Hourani (Giramondo Publishing)
- That Galloping Horse by Petra White (Shearsman Books)
- The Other Side of Daylight: New and Selected Poems by David Brooks (University of Queensland Press)
Children’s Literature
- A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby (Fremantle Press)
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tooth Fairy (And Some Things You Didn't) by Briony Stewart (Hachette Australia)
- Leo and Ralph by Peter Carnavas (University of Queensland Press)
- Raymaŋgirrbuy dhäwu When I was a little girl by Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr (Magabala Books)
- We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold (Thames & Hudson Australia)
Young Adult
- Anomaly by Emma Lord (Affirm Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia)
- My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery (Allen & Unwin)
- The Anti-Racism Kit by Sabina Patawaran and Jinyoung Kim (Hardie Grant Children's Publishing)
- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Thunderhead by Sophie Beer (Allen & Unwin)
The winners of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards will be announced on Monday 29 September at a prestigious ceremony held at the National Library of Australia in Canberra. Both the winners and the shortlisted authors will share in a tax-free prize pool of $600,000, making it the richest literary prize in Australia. Each shortlisted entry will receive $5,000 with the winner of each category receiving $80,000.
For more information on the shortlists, including judging panel comments, please visit: Prime Minister's Literary Awards on the Creative Australia website. Join the conversation by using our hashtag #PMLitAwards.
Media contacts:
For interviews with shortlisted authors
Debbie McInnes, Director DMCPR Media or Ineke Walker
Mobile: 0412 818 071 or 0412455977
Email: [email protected] [email protected]
For Creative Australia enquiries:
Brianna Roberts
Senior Media Manager
T: +61 9215 9030 M: +61 498 123 541
More information:
About the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were established in 2008 to recognise individual excellence and the contribution that Australian authors make to the nation's cultural and intellectual life in the categories of non-fiction and fiction. In 2010 the young adult and children's literature categories were introduced, followed by poetry in 2012 and the inclusion of the pre-existing Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History.
Previous winners of the award include Tara June Winch, Omar Sakr, Gerald Murnane, Nam Le, Judith Brett and Jessica Au.
About Writing Australia
Writing Australia, located within Creative Australia, will provide direct support to the literature sector to grow local and international audiences for Australian books, planning for new investments and providing strategic advice.
Writing Australia was established by the Creative Australia Act 2023. This was the final piece of legislation in establishing all the functions of Creative Australia under the National Cultural Policy, Revive: A place for every story, a story for every place.
About the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia holds the world’s largest collection of material relating to Australia and Australians. Its rich collection contains books, artworks, newspapers, maps, rare books, manuscripts, pictures, digital publications and more. The National Library’s vision is to inspire, connect, and empower everyone in the community by making the collection accessible to all.
The National Library offers engaging tours, a changing program of exhibitions, a dynamic array of events and public programs, and access to its Reading Rooms for those seeking knowledge, culture, or simply a place to connect. In addition to this, the National Library has a publishing arm that creates books that tell stories by and about Australians.
The National Library of the Australia is the exclusive presenting partner of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
Contact details:
For interviews with shortlisted authors
Debbie McInnes, Director DMCPR Media or Ineke Walker
Mobile: 0412 818 071 or 0412455977
Email: [email protected] [email protected]
For Creative Australia enquiries:
Brianna Roberts
Senior Media Manager
T: +61 9215 9030 M: +61 498 123 541
