Information and enquiries
Veronica Sullivan
Programming Manager, The Wheeler Centre
Telephone: 03 9094 7800
Key dates for all 2019 Awards
Open call for entries – Monday 3 September 2018
Close of entries – Monday 1 October 2018
Shortlist announcement – Monday 3 December 2018
Winner announcement – Thursday 31 January 2019
Books published between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018 are eligible for entry into the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Please note, books published after close of entries (1 October 2018) can be submitted in PDF format, or as a printed and bound proof.
Your definitive guide to Australia’s best writing.
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. The awards are administered by the Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Premier of Victoria.
The winners of the main suite of awards – fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry, writing for young adults, and the biennial Award for Indigenous Writing – each receive $25,000. The winner of the Award for an Unpublished Manuscriptreceives $15,000.
The winners of the seven award categories go on to contest the overall Victorian Prize for Literature, worth an additional $100,000. This is the single most valuable literary award in the country.
The judges
Fiction: Jackie Tang, Abigail Ulman, Chris Womersley, Elizabeth McCarthy (convenor)
Non-fiction: Dennis Altman, Fatima Measham, Sonia Nair, Bhakthi Puvanenthiran, Jordy Silverstein (convenor)
Drama: Tim Byrne, Samah Sabawi, Alison Croggon (convenor)
Poetry: Broede Carmody, Lia Incognita, Gig Ryan (convenor)
Writing for Young Adults: Melissa Keil, Nevo Zisin, Leanne Hall (convenor)
The Award for Indigenous Writing: Genevieve Grieves, Jack Latimore, Jane Harrison (convenor)
The Award for an Unpublished Manuscript: Jaclyn Crupi, JP Pomare, Elizabeth Flux (convenor)