Queensland Literary Awards

The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs celebrate and promote outstanding Australian writing. The awards aim to seek out, recognize and nurture great talent in Australian writing. They draw national and international attention to some of our best writers and to Queensland's recognition of outstanding Australian literature and publishing.

These Awards have a focus on supporting new writing through the Emerging Queensland Writer – Manuscript Award and Unpublished Indigenous writer – David Unaipon Award. "They give local writers and new writers something to aspire to."

History
The Queensland Literary Awards was established by a not-for-profit association of passionate Queensland volunteers and advocates for literature, in response to Queensland Premier Campbell Newman disestablishing the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards in 2012.

In 2012 and 2013 the program was run by a volunteer workforce. Following consultation with the QLA Inc. governing committee, 2014 saw the management of the QLA transition to State Library of Queensland (SLQ). While SLQ took on a leadership role in delivering the program, the aim was to continue to build on the existing collaborative model where the community and writing sector partners are key stakeholders.

The original Premier's awards were established by Peter Beattie, the then Premier of Queensland in 1998 and first awarded in 1999.

Award categories
There are currently twelve award categories including:
 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships
 * The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award
 * The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award
 * Young Adult Book Award
 * Children's Book Award
 * University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection
 * Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection
 * David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Writer
 * Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer
 * The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year

Judging
The Awards are judged by independent panels of writers, critics, journalists, academics and booksellers. The Awards are presented to works the judges determine possess the highest literary merit.

2023
The winners were announced on 6 September 2023:


 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – The Jaguar by Sarah Holland-Batt
 * The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Sita Walker for The God of No Good
 * The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – Alexis Wright for Praiseworthy
 * The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Debra Dank for We Come With This Place
 * Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection – Lionel Fogarty for Harvest Lingo
 * University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection – Katerina Gibson for Women I Know
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Biffy James for Completely Normal (and Other Lies)
 * Children's Book Award – Katrina Nannestad for Waiting for the Storks
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award –
 * Jasmin McGaughey
 * Jonathan O'Brien
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships –
 * Al Campbell for "Door 64"
 * B. R. Dionysius for "The Eromanga Sea"
 * Melanie Saward for "The Next Chapter"
 * Glendower Award for Emerging Queensland Author – Steve MinOn for "First Name Second Name"
 * David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Writer – Maria van Neerven for "To Give Them a Voice"

2022
The winners were announced on 8 September 2022:


 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – Wounded Country: The Murray-Darling Basin – a contested history by Quentin Beresford
 * The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego
 * The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – The Other Half of You by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
 * The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Lies, Damned Lies by Claire G. Coleman
 * Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection – Stasis Shuffle by Pam Brown
 * University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection – Dark as Last Night by Tony Birch
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Girls in Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna
 * Children's Book Award – Kunyi written and illustrated by Kunyi June Anne McInerney
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award –
 * Rebecca Cheers
 * Marilena Hewitt
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships –
 * Melissa Ashley
 * Geneve Flynn
 * Mary-Rose MacColl
 * Glendower Award for Emerging Queensland Author – Yen-Rong Wong, "Things Left Unsaid"
 * David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Writer – Mykaela Saunders for "Always Will Be – stories of Goori sovereignty, from the future(s) of the Tweed"

2021
The winners were announced on 9 September 2021:


 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – Biting the Clouds: A Badtjala perspective on the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act, 1897 by Fiona Foley
 * The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Mary’s Last Dance: The untold story of the wife of Mao’s Last Dancer by Mary Li
 * The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson
 * The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Amnesia Road: Landscape, violence and memory by Luke Stegemann
 * Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection – Terminally Poetic by Ouyang Yu
 * University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection – Ordinary Matter by Laura Elvery
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore
 * Griffith University Children's Book Award – Bindi written by Kirli Saunders and illustrated by Dub Leffler
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award –
 * Allanah Hunt
 * Ellen Wengert
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships –
 * Tabitha Bird for "The Healing Giggle of Wonder"
 * Ella Jeffery for "Split Level"
 * Kali Napier for "Preserving: Stories"
 * Glendower Award for Emerging Queensland Author – Siang Lu, "The Whitewash"
 * David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Writer – Ngankiburka-mekauwe (Senior Woman of Water) Georgina Williams for "Mekauwe=Tears Volume #1 Poems (Notes For Song) 1970–2020"

2020
The winners were announced on 4 September 2020:


 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – Heartland: How Rugby League Explains Queensland, Joe Gorman
 * The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird
 * The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – Stone Sky Gold Mountain, Mirandi Riwoe
 * The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Olive Cotton: A Life in Photography, Helen Ennis
 * Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection – Heide, П. O.
 * University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection – Lucky Ticket, Joey Bui
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Ghost Bird, Lisa Fuller
 * Griffith University Children's Book Award – As Fast As I Can, Penny Tangey
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award – Zenobia Frost and Yen-Rong Wong
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships – Sara El Sayed, Anna Jacobson and Amanda Niehaus
 * Glendower Award for Emerging Queensland Author – If You're Happy, Fiona Robertson
 * David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Writer – The Space Between the Paperbark, Jazz Money

2019
The winners were announced on 12 November 2019:


 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – Too Much Lip, Melissa Lucashenko
 * The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Adani, Following Its Dirty Footsteps: A Personal Story, Lindsay Simpson
 * University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – Exploded View, Carrie Tiffany
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – An Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell Arnold, Mary Hoban
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – An Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell Arnold, Mary Hoban
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Blakwork, Alison Whittaker
 * University of Southern Queensland Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – Zebra: And Other Stories, Debra Adelaide
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Lenny’s Book of Everything, Karen Foxlee
 * Griffith University Children's Book Award – The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars, Jaclyn Moriarty
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Awards – Ella Jeffery and Ellen van Neerven
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships – Claire Christian, Sarah Holland-Batt and Emily O'Grady
 * Glendower Award for Emerging Queensland Author for unpublished manuscript – Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Ratcliffe Wilde
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – Not awarded in 2019
 * QUT Digital Literature Award – V[R]ignettes, Mez Breeze

2018
The 2018 winners were:


 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – We'll Show the World: Expo 88, Jackie Ryan
 * The Courier Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Brisbane Houses with Gardens, Beth Wilson
 * University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – Taboo, Kim Scott
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Tracker, Alexis Wright
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – We'll Show the World: Expo 88, Jackie Ryan
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – I Love Poetry, Michael Farrell
 * University of Southern Queensland Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – Pulse Points, Jennifer Down
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – In the Dark Spaces, Cally Black
 * Griffith University Children's Book Award – The Elephant, Peter Carnavas
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Awards – Anna Jacobson & Bri Lee
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships – Michael Gerard Bauer, Jackie Ryan and Laura Elvery
 * Glendower Award for Emerging Queensland Author for unpublished manuscript – Garrison Town, Melanie Myers
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – The Making of Ruby Champion, Kirstie Parker
 * QUT Digital Literature Award – Little Emperor Syndrome, David Thomas Henry Wright, with Chris Arnold

2017
The 2017 winners were:
 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – The Daintree Blockade: The Battle for Australia's Tropical Rainforests, Bill Wilkie
 * The Courier Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Saltwater, Cathy McLennan
 * University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – The Birdman's Wife, Melissa Ashley
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Saltwater, Cathy McLennan
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – Into the Heart of Tasmania: A Search for Human Antiquity, Rebe Taylor
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Fragments, Antigone Kefala
 * University of Southern Queensland Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – The Circle and the Equator, Kyra Giorgi
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Words in Deep Blue, Cath Crowley
 * Griffith University Children's Book Award – The Grand, Genius Summer of Henry Hoobler, Lisa Shanahan
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Awards – Lech Blaine and Mindy Gill
 * Queensland Writers Fellowships – Mirandi Riwoe, Zenobia Frost and Linda Neil
 * Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award – The Killing of Louisa, Janet Lee
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – Mirrored Pieces, Lisa Fuller
 * QUT Digital Literature Award – Nine Billion Branches, Jason Nelson

2016
The 2016 winners were:
 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – Not Just Black and White, Lesley and Tammy Williams
 * The Courier Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – Swimming Home, Mary-Rose MacColl
 * University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – Between a Wolf and a Dog, Georgia Blain
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Small Acts of Disappearance: Essays on Hunger, Fiona Wright
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – The Pearl Frontier: Indonesian Labour and Indigenous Encounters in Australia’s Northern Trading Network, Julia Martínez and Adrian Vickers
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Anatomy of Voice, David Musgrave
 * University of Southern Queensland Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – co-winners: A Few Days in the Country and other stories, Elizabeth Harrower and The High Places, Fiona McFarlane
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – Dreaming the Enemy, David Metzenthen
 * Griffith University Children's Book Award – KidGlovz, Julie Hunt (author) and Dale Newman (illustrator)
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Awards – Emily Craven and Michelle Law
 * Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award – No winner, two Encouragement Awards given – The Boatman, H.E. Crampton; and The Elements, Laura Elvery
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – Dancing Home, Paul Collis

2015
The 2015 winners were:
 * Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance – Warrior, Libby Connors
 * The Courier Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – On the road...with the kids, John Ahern
 * University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – The Golden Age, Joan London
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – The Bush : Travels in the Heart of Australia, Don Watson
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – ANZAC, The Unauthorised Biography, Carolyn Holbrook
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Waiting for the Past, Les Murray
 * Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – Merciless Gods, Christos Tsiolkas
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – The Pause, John Larkin
 * Children's Book Award – A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay
 * Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Awards – Megan McGrath and Rebecca Jessen
 * Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award – Aurora, Elizabeth Kasmer
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – The First Octoroon or Report of an Experimental Child, Andrew Booth

2014
The 2014 winners were:
 * The Courier Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – How to do a Liver Transplant: Stories from my Surgical Life, Kellee Slater
 * University of Queensland Fiction Book Award – The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – 1914: The Year the World Ended, Paul Ham
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – Broken Nation, Joan Beaumont
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Earth Hour, David Malouf
 * Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – Only the Animals, Ceridwen Dovey
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – The Cracks in the Kingdom, Jaclyn Moriarty
 * Children's Book Award – Refuge, Jackie French and Rules of Summer, Shaun Tan (joint winners)
 * Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award – We Come From Saltwater People, Cathy McLennan
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – It’s Not Just Black and White, Lesley & Tammy Williams

2013
The 2013 winners were:
 * The Courier Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award – The Secret Keeper, Kate Morton
 * Deloitte Fiction Book Award – Mullumbimby, Melissa Lucashenko
 * University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award – Boy, Lost, Kristina Olsson
 * University of Southern Queensland History Book Award – The Flash of Recognition, Jane Lydon
 * State Library of Queensland Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Jam Tree Gully, John Kinsella
 * Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – Like a House on Fire, Cate Kennedy
 * Griffith University Young Adult Book Award – A Corner of White, Jaclyn Moriarty
 * Children's Book Award – Don't Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen!, Narelle Oliver
 * Gadens Feature Film Script Award – Healing, Craig Monahan and Alison Nisselle
 * Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award – Gap, Rebecca Jessen
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – Heat and Light, Ellen van Neerven

2012
The 2012 winners were:
 * Fiction Book Award – Cold Light, Frank Moorhouse
 * Non-Fiction Book Award – The People Smuggler, Robin De Crespigny
 * History Book Award – The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia, Bill Gammage
 * Literary or Media Work Advancing Public Debate – Harry Williams Award – The Australian Moment: How We Were Made For These Times, George Megalogenis
 * Science Writers Award – Sex, Genes & Rock 'n' Roll, Rob Brooks
 * Poetry Collection – Judith Wright Calanthe Award – Crimson Crop, Peter Rose
 * Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award – Turbulence, Janette Turner Hospital
 * Young Adult Book Award – The Ink Bridge, Neil Grant
 * Children's Book Award – Kumiko and the Shadow Catchers, Briony Stewart
 * Film Script Award – Dead Europe, Louise Fox
 * Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award – Island of the Unexpected, Catherine Titasey
 * Unpublished Indigenous Writer – David Unaipon Award – Story, Siv Parker
 * Drama Script (Stage) Award – War Crimes, Angela Betzien
 * Television Script Award – Mabo, Sue Smith