2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards now open

Entries for the 2023 Premier’s Awards are now open! This year, the awards have also received a funding boost which makes the Indigenous Prize a yearly fixture, while increasing the the Multicultural NSW Award from $20,000 to $30,000.

From to the press release:

“The Premier’s Literary Awards are the longest running and richest state-based literary awards in the country honouring the best Australian writers,” NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said. “We’re thrilled to be increasing the prize money from $20,000 to $30,000 for the Multicultural NSW Award and making the Indigenous Prize a permanent fixture of our annual awards. This reinforces the Government’s commitment to supporting literature that reflects the stories and experiences of our diverse communities.”

Multicultural NSW Chief Executive Officer Joseph La Posta welcomed this exciting news which brings the Multicultural NSW Award and Indigenous Prize into line with other major prizes in the literary awards.

“Writing is one of the world’s most enduring forms of communication,” Mr La Posta said. “It has the power to transport us to new worlds, across time and through memories. And now writers, poets, screenwriters, playwriters and scriptwriters writing about multicultural Australia and First Nations stories and experiences will be equally celebrated with their peers at these prestigious awards.”

Since their establishment in 1979, the Awards have celebrated the successes of emerging and established Australian writers in all genres.

Here are the categories:

• Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000)
• Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction ($40,000)
• Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)
• Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000)
• Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000)
• Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting ($30,000)
• Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting ($30,000)
• Multicultural NSW Award ($30,000)
• Indigenous Writers’ Prize ($30,000)
• NSW Premier’s Translation Prize ($30,000)
• UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000)
• Book of the Year ($10,000)
• Special Award ($10,000)

Entries close: 5pm, Monday 10 October 2022.

The online entry form and guidelines for the Awards are available from: sl.nsw.gov.au/pla