Home

Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance

Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance

Nominations for the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards are now closed. The shortlists will be announced on 5 August and the winners on 12 September.

2025 Queensland Literary Awards Terms and Conditions of Entry

PDF · 267 KB

About the award

Part of the Queensland Literary Awards, the Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance is for an outstanding work by a Queensland author or an outstanding work by an Australian writer that tells a Queensland story.

Eligibility

This category is open to all Australian authors.
Judges will award this prize to a published book of the highest literary merit that:
- tells a significant Queensland story and/or
- is a work by a Queensland author if it has increased the awareness and profile of Queensland writing.
Eligible works include published short story collections, poetry collections, novels, children’s books, young adult books, plays, biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, and other works of non-fiction.
Must be first published between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 by an Australian citizen or resident who is living at the time of nomination.

To confirm you're eligible to enter this category, download the full 2025 terms and conditions of entry document.

Prize

$30,000 supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland

2025 key dates

3 March: entries open
22 April: entries close at 5 pm AEST
3 March–17 March: early bird entry period
18 March–22 April: standard entry period
30 April: deadline for books to arrive at State Library
5 August: shortlist announced
12 September: awards ceremony at State Library of Queensland

How to enter

Download and read the full 2025 terms and conditions of entry document.
Read the nomination FAQs.
Complete an online nomination form by 5 pm AEST on 22 April 2025.
Pay the nomination fee (early bird $45.00 including GST or standard $55.00 including GST).
Send 5 copies of the book to State Library:

Attn: Queensland Literary Awards
c/- State Library of Queensland
Cultural Centre, Stanley Place
SOUTH BRISBANE QLD 4101

Find other delivery options in the terms and conditions of entry. State Library must receive all books by 30 April 2025.

You will receive confirmation of your accepted nomination via email.

More information

A woman with short hair and glasses sits in an auditorium smiling and applauding

Nomination FAQs

Find answers to common questions about nominating for the Queensland Literary Awards.

Learn more

Two people carrying books and browsing a book stall at a night-time event

Judging process

Learn more

Benjamin Law smiles at another guest at the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards reception

History of the awards

Discover past Queensland Literary Award winners and finalists.

Learn more

Congratulations to the 2024 finalists!

The cover of Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko. It is red and shows a map, spears and gun silhouettes

Edenglassie – Winner

Melissa Lucashenko (University of Queensland Press)

Judges' comments:

Edenglassie  explores our tangled roots of land, belonging, and resistance through a rich amalgam of past and present Aboriginal lives. Making use of extensive research, Lucashenko recreates the early frontier in vivid detail, crafting a narrative that resonates deeply and elevates our understanding of Queensland’s soul.

Learn more

Borderland

Graham Akhurst (UWA Publishing)

Judges' comments:

Borderland is a genre-bending debut that deftly explores identity and belonging. Set against Brisbane and the rural town of Gambari, Akhurst's vivid storytelling follows Jono, an Indigenous teenager seeking to connect with his Country and community. Akhurst's confident and insightful voice makes this an exciting standout in contemporary Australian literature.

Learn more

Fat Girl Dancing

Kris Kneen (Text Publishing)

Judges' comments:

Fat Girl Dancing is an inventive, unflinching, and unguarded memoir debunking the idea of ‘fatness’. From the schoolyard to sex, photography to self-portraiture, deep-sea diving to burlesque, Kneen offers an insightful deconstruction of flesh and mind, and its impacts on our lives when our body is othered. 

Learn more

Poof

J.M. Tolcher (James Tolcher)

Judges' comments:

Poof is a brave, funny account of a gay man navigating the highs and lows of life and finally finding his place. Tolcher takes us on a journey of intrigue, manipulation, seduction and then empowerment and integrity. Full of real insight and skilfully written, Poof is an impressive debut from a self-published author.

Learn more

Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity

Ellen van Neerven (University of Queensland Press)

Judges' comments:

In Personal Score, van Neerven paints an intimate portrait of a young person navigating the twin worlds of sport and sexuality. Through compelling prose and poetry, this character-driven narrative goes deep into First Nations resilience and self-discovery, offering a transformative reflection on the contemporary Australian experience.

Learn more