2019 Queensland Literary Awards Winners and Finalists

Congratulations to the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards winners and finalists!

2019 winners and finalists  

The 2019 Queensland Literary Awards attracted a record number of nominations. 

Congratulations to all finalists, and the winners announced at State Library of Queensland on 12 November.

 

 

Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance

Prize $25,000

WINNER  

  • Too Much Lip (UQP) by Melissa Lucashenko

FINALISTS
  • The Night Dragon (UQP) by Matthew Condon
  • Boy Swallows Universe (HarperCollins) by Trent Dalton  
  • meditations with passing water (Rabbit) by Jake Goetz  
  • Wintering (Text) by Krissy Kneen  

This award is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

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Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award

Two awards of $12,500 each

WINNER

  • Ella Jeffery

WINNER

  • Ellen van Neerven           

FINALISTS                     
  • Emily O'Grady
  • Yen-Rong Wong

This award is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

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Queensland Writers Fellowships

Prize: Three Fellowships of $19,500 

WINNERS

  • Claire Christian, The Invisibles

  • Sarah Holland-Batt, Spiral Separator

  • Emily O’Grady, Feast: A Literary Novel

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The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award

Prize $15,000

WINNER

  • Exploded View (Text) by Carrie Tiffany

FINALISTS
  • Bodies of Men (Hachette) by Nigel Featherstone
  • Too Much Lip (UQP) by Melissa Lucashenko
  • Shell (Scribner) by Kristina Olsson
  • Daughter of Bad Times (Allen & Unwin) by Rohan Wilson
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The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award

Prize $15,000

WINNER

  • An Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell Arnold (Scribe) by Mary Hoban

FINALISTS
  • Dr Space Junk vs The Universe: Archaeology and the Future (NewSouth) by Alice Gorman
  • Shakespeare’s Library: Unlocking the Greatest Mystery in Literature (Text) by Stuart Kells
  • The Eastern Curlew (Affirm) by Harry Saddler 
  • Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia (HarperCollins) by Christina Thompson
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Griffith University Children's Book Award

​​​​Prize $15,000

WINNER

  • The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars (Allen & Unwin) by Jaclyn Moriarty

FINALISTS 
  • Leave Taking (UQP) by Lorraine Marwood
  • Black Cockatoo (Magabala) by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler
  • His Name was Walter (HarperCollins) by Emily Rodda
  • Chalk Boy (Allen & Unwin) by Margaret Wild and Mandy Ord
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Griffith University Young Adult Book Award

Prize $15,000

WINNER

  • Lenny’s Book of Everything (Allen & Unwin) by Karen Foxlee

FINALISTS
  • Small Spaces (Walker) by Sarah Epstein
  • How It Feels to Float (Pan Macmillan) by Helena Fox
  • The Bogan Mondrian (UQP) by Steven Herrick 
  • Catching Teller Crow (Allen & Unwin) by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
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University of Southern Queensland History Book Award

Prize $10,000

WINNER

  • An Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell Arnold (Scribe) by Mary Hoban

FINALISTS
  • From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia got Compulsory Voting (Text) by Judith Brett
  • Kindred: A Cradle Mountain Love Story (MUP) by Kate Legge
  • A New History of the Irish in Australia (NewSouth) by Elizabeth Malcolm and Dianne Hall
  • You Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World (Text) by Clare Wright
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University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection

Prize $10,000

WINNER

  • Zebra: And Other Stories (Pan Macmillan) by Debra Adelaide     

FINALISTS
  • The True Colour of the Sea (Penguin Random House) by Robert Drewe             
  • The Drover’s Wives (Brio) by Ryan O’Neill  
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Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection

Prize $10,000

WINNER

  • Blakwork (Magabala) by Alison Whittaker

FINALISTS
  • Hot Take (Hunter) by Liam Ferney                     
  • Newcastle Sonnets (Giramondo) by Keri Glastonbury 
  • That Sight (Cordite) by Marjon Mossammaparast                       
  • The Lost Arabs (UQP) by Omar Sakr     
  • This award is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. 
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QUT Digital Literature Award

Prize $15,000

WINNER

  • V[R]ignettes by Mez Breeze

FINALISTS
  • Gothic Body, in Two Parts by Eda Gunaydin
  • Psychometric Researches by Benjamin Laird     
  • ITERATION - Part 3/Chapter 3 by CB Mako and MJ Flamiano
  • The Wonders of Lost Trajectories by Jason Nelson
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Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer

Prize $15,000

WINNER

  • Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Ratcliffe Wilde

FINALISTS
  • Little Birds by Sue Goldstiver
  • The Still Point of Being by Karen Hollands
  • Apparitions by Jack Lio

This award is supported by Jenny Summerson through the Queensland Library Foundation.

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The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award

Prize $10,000

WINNER

  • Adani, Following Its Dirty Footsteps: A Personal Story (Spinifex) by Lindsay Simpson 

FINALISTS
  • Boy Swallows Universe (HarperCollins) by Trent Dalton  
  • Requiem with Yellow Butterflies: A Memoir (UWA Publishing) by James Halford
  • Wintering (Text) by Krissy Kneen 
  • Too Much Lip (UQP) by Melissa Lucashenko 
  • Brisbane’s Greek Cafes: A Million Malted Milks (Teacup) by Toni Risson
  • Charles Ulm (Allen & Unwin) by Rick Searle 
  • Daughter of Bad Times (Allen & Unwin) by Rohan Wilson

The winner is determined by public vote. Voting closed Monday 14 October, 5pm. 

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David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer 

  • Eligible entrants will receive author development activities through State Library including mentorship, editorial advice, and guidance on opportunities, pathways and artistic development, in consultation with the Award partners, Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and University of Queensland Press.

This award is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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