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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.