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2023 Queensland Literary Awards winners

2023 Queensland Literary Awards winners

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

Queensland Premier's Awards for a Work of State Signiﬁcance

$25,000 | Supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland

WINNER
The Jaguar
by Sarah Holland-Batt
University of Queensland Press

FINALISTS
We Come with This Place by Debra Dank (Echo Publishing)
The Bravest Word by Kate Foster (Walker Books Australia)
Bone Memories by Sally Piper (University of Queensland Press)
Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright (Giramondo Publishing)

Cover of The Jaguar by Sarah Holland-Batt

Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards

$12,500 each (2 x awards) | Supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland

WINNERS
Jasmin McGaughey and Jonathan O'Brien

FINALISTS
Myles McGuire
Alex Philp
Sean West

Jasmin McGaughey is wearing a pink jumper and standing against a black and white brick wall. She is smiling.

Black and white photo of Jonathan O'Brien. He wears glasses and a dark shirt.

Queensland Writers Fellowships

$19,500 each (3 x Fellowships) | Supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and State Library of Queensland

WINNERS
“Door 64” by Al Campbell
“The Eromanga Sea” by B. R. Dionysius
“The Next Chapter” by Melanie Saward

A black and white photo of Al Campbell. She has dark rimmed glasses and short blonde hair

A photo of Melanie Saward sitting on the stairs of a house. She has pink hair and a bright dress and a little white dog is in the background.

The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award

$15,000 | Sponsored by The University of Queensland

WINNER
Praiseworthy
by Alexis Wright
Giramondo Publishing

FINALISTS
Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Hachette Australia)
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane (Allen & Unwin)
An Ungrateful Instrument by Michael Meehan (Transit Lounge)
Bon and Lesley by Shaun Prescott (Giramondo Publishing)

The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award

$15,000 | Sponsored by The University of Queensland

WINNER
We Come with This Place
by Debra Dank
Echo Publishing

FINALISTS
Humanity’s Moment by Joëlle Gergis (Black Inc.)
Indelible City by Louisa Lim (Text Publishing)
A Kind of Magic by Anna Spargo-Ryan (Ultimo Press)
Our Members Be Unlimited by Sam Wallman (Scribe)

Cover of We Come with This Place by Debra Dank showing the silhouette of a person against a stylised painted orange and yellow map

Children’s Book Award

$15,000 | Supported by Susan Hocking and Ian Mackie, and their family,
through The Hocking Mackie Trust at APS Foundation

WINNER
Waiting for the Storks
by Katrina Nannestad
ABC Books: An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

FINALISTS
The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon (University of Queensland Press)
Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post by Bob Graham (Walker Books)
My Deadly Boots written by Hakea Hustler and Carl Merrison and illustrated by Samantha Campbell (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon by Gabrielle Wang (Penguin Random House Australia)

Cover of Waiting for the Storks by Katrina Nannestad

Griﬃth University Young Adult Book Award

$15,000 | Sponsored by Griffith University

WINNER
Completely Normal (and Other Lies)
by Biffy James
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing

FINALISTS
The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood (Text Publishing)
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang (HQ Young Adult: An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
My Spare Heart by Jared Thomas (Allen & Unwin)

Cover of Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James which is red and pink with two illustrations of women and plants over their faces

University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection

$15,000 | Sponsored by University of Southern Queensland

WINNER
Women I Know
by Katerina Gibson
Scribner Australia

FINALISTS
An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life by Paul Dalla Rosa (Allen & Unwin)
Everything Feels Like the End of the World by Else Fitzgerald (Allen & Unwin)
Here Be Leviathans by Chris Flynn (University of Queensland Press)

Cover of Women I Know by Katerina Gibson

Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection

$15,000 | Supported by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund

WINNER
Harvest Lingo
by Lionel Fogarty
Giramondo Publishing

FINALISTS
Googlecholia by Michael Farrell (Giramondo Publishing)
The Drama Student by Autumn Royal (Giramondo Publishing)
Fugitive by Simon Tedeschi (Upswell Publishing)
Exactly As I Am by Rae White (University of Queensland Press)

Cover of Harvest Lingo by Lionel Fogarty which features a royal blue rectangle and black and white squares over the top

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

$15,000 | Supported by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund

WINNER
“To Give Them a Voice”
by Maria van Neerven

FINALISTS
“guniimara” by Lulu Houdini
“Always and Again” by Brooke Scobie

Maria van Neerven stands in a dark blue jacket and pink beanie at a mountain lookout

Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer

$15,000 | Supported by Jenny Summerson through the Queensland Library Foundation

WINNER
“First Name Second Name”
by Steve MinOn

FINALISTS
“The See-Saw” by Fernanda Dahlstrom
“Treasure” by Sandra Minke
“Exchange Me” by Margot Shave

Steve MinOn stands against a wall of dark tiles. Steve wears a black leather jacket.

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

$10,000 | Sponsored by The Courier-Mail

WINNER
The God of No Good
by Sita Walker
Ultimo Press

FINALISTS

We Come with This Place by Debra Dank (Echo Publishing)
The Whispering by Veronica Lando (HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
Homecoming by Kate Morton (Allen & Unwin)
Bone Memories by Sally Piper (University of Queensland Press)
The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland (HarperCollins Publishers)
The Bodyline Fix by Marion Stell (University of Queensland Press)
Cloud Land by Penny van Oosterzee (Allen & Unwin)