Creative Australia has announced the shortlists for the 2024 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the country’s most prestigious literary prize.

Among the shortlists is Will Kostakis for his young adult novel We could be something (Allen & Unwin).

The awards recognise the exceptional talents of emerging and established Australian writers, illustrators, poets and historians.

The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards recognise the contribution of Australian literature to the cultural and intellectual life of the country. Creative Australia is now awarding the awards for the second time following the release of the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy for 2023. Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place.

CEO Adrian Collette AM commented on the significance of the awards: “Stories are the heartbeat of our culture. They connect us to our past, illuminate our present and shape our future. The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards celebrate the storytellers who enrich our lives with their creativity and outstanding talent.”

Creative Australia received an impressive 533 entries across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry and Australian history.

An expert panel of judges carefully reviewed the award submissions and produced the final shortlist, which includes:

Australian History

• Donald Horne: A life in the happy land by Ryan Cropp (La Trobe University Press)
• Bee miles By Rose Ellis (Allen & Unwin)
• Bennelong and Phillip: A story unraveled by Kate Fullagar (Scribner)
• Killing for the Fatherland: A Family Story by David Marr (Black Inc)
• The Courtship: An Intimate Story of Love and the Law by Alecia Simmonds (La Trobe University Press)

fiction

• Anam by André Dao (Penguin Random House)
• The restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville (Text Publishing)
• Edenglassia by Melissa Lucashenko (University of Queensland Press)
• The fleshly joints by Catherine McNamara (Puncher and Wattmann)
• Devotional image Steinhof by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)

Non-fiction

• Close to the topic: Selected works by Daniel Browning (Magabala Books)
• In the end everything is connected by Sarah Firth (Allen & Unwin)
• Graft: Motherhood, family and a year in the country by Maggie MacKellar (Penguin Random House)
• A kind of confession by Alex Miller (Allen & Unwin)
• A clear flowing Yarra by Harry Saddler (Affirm Press)

poetry

• On the photo by Luke Beesley (Giramondo Publishing)
• The Cyprian by Amy Crutchfield (Giramondo Publishing)
• She is the earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann (Magabala Books)
• Golden Bridge: New Poems by Jennifer Maiden (Quemar Press)
• The acting student by Autumn Royal (Giramondo Publishing)

Young adults

• Grace notes by Karen Comer (Hachette Australia)
• Welcome to Sex by Dr. Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes ​​(Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
• We could be something by Will Kostakis (Allen & Unwin)
• We didn’t think about it by Gary Lonesborough (Allen & Unwin)
• A hunger of thorns by Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)

Children’s literature

• Etta and the Shadow Taboo by Jared Field and Jeremy Worrall (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
• Ghost Book by Remy Lai (Allen & Unwin)
• Two sparrowhawks in a lonely sky by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin)
• Millie Mak, the maker by Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Tamarra: A Story of Termites in the Land of Gurindji by Violet Wadrill; Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal; Leah Leaman; Cecelia Edwards; Cassandra Algy; Felicity Meakins; Briony Barr and Gregory Crocetti (Hardie Grant Explore)

The winners of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards will be announced at a prestigious ceremony at the National Library of Australia in Canberra on Thursday 12 September. The winners and shortlisted authors will share a tax-free prize pool of $600,000, the largest amount for a literary award in Australia. Each shortlisted entry will receive $5,000, and the winner of each category will receive $80,000.

For more information on the shortlists, including comments from the judges, visit: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards on the Creative Australia website.