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2021 Queensland Literary Awards Winners and Finalists
Congratulations to the 2021 Queensland Literary Awards winners and finalists!
Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance
$25,000 | Supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland
WINNER
Biting the Clouds
by Fiona Foley
University of Queensland Press
FINALISTS
Car Crash by Lech Blaine (Black Inc.)
Ordinary Matter by Laura Elvery (University of Queensland Press)
A Question of Colour by Pattie Lees with Adam C Lees (Magabala)
Change Machine by Jaya Savige (University of Queensland Press)

Queensland Writers Fellowships
$15,000 each (three Fellowships) | Supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and State Library of Queensland
WINNERS
The Healing Giggle of Wonder by Tabitha Bird
Split Level by Ella Jeffery
Preserving: Stories by Kali Napier



The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award
$15,000 | Sponsored by The University of Queensland
WINNER
Song of the Crocodile
by Nardi Simpson
Hachette Australia
FINALISTS
Friends & Dark Shapes by Kavita Bedford (Text Publishing)
Revenge: Murder in Three Parts by S.L. Lim (Transit Lounge)
The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey (Text Publishing)
The Last Migration by Charlotte McConaghy (Penguin Random House

The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award
$15,000 | Sponsored by The University of Queensland
WINNER
Amnesia Road
Luke Stegemann
NewSouth Publishing
FINALISTS
Car Crash: A Memoir by Lech Blaine (Black Inc.)
Into the Loneliness - The Unholy Alliance of Ernestine Hill and Daisy Bates by Eleanor Hogan (Newsouth Books)
Truth Telling - History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement by Henry Reynolds (NewSouth Books)
The Carbon Club by Marian Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)

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
Bindi
Kirli Saunders and illustrated by Dub Leffler
Magabala Books
FINALISTS
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals by Sami Bayly (Hachette)
How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay illustrated by Matt Ottley (Walker Books)
The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty illustrated by Kelly Canby (Allen & Unwin)
We are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad illustrated by Martina Heiduczek (ABC Books)

Griffith University Young Adult Book Award
$15,000 | Sponsored by Griffith University
WINNER
Metal Fish, Falling Snow
by Cath Moore
Text Publishing
FINALISTS
The End of the World is Bigger than Love by Davina Bell (Text Publishing)
Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin)
The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough (Allen & Unwin)
The Erasure Initiative by Lili Wilkinson (Allen & Unwin)

University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection
$15,000 | Sponsored by University of Southern Queensland
WINNER
Ordinary Matter
by Laura Elvery
University of Queensland Press
FINALISTS
Smokehouse by Melissa Manning (University of Queensland Press)
Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan (Brio Books)
Born Into This by Adam Thompson (University of Queensland Press)
Broken Rules and Other Stories by Barry Lee Thompson (Transit Lounge)

Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection
$15,000 | Sponsored by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund
WINNER
Terminally Poetic
by Ouyang Yu
Ginninderra Press
FINALISTS
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen (University of Queensland Press)
Airplane Baby Banana Blanket by Benjamin Dodds (Recent Work Press)
Change Machine by Jaya Savige (University of Queensland Press)
Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki (Magabala Books)

David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer
$15,000 | Sponsored by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund
WINNER
'Mekauwe = Tears Volume #1 (Notes For Song) 1970-2020'
by Ngankiburka-mekauwe (Senior Woman-of Water) Georgina Williams
FINALISTS
'Politiks' by Chella Goldwin

The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award
$10,000 | Sponsored by The Courier-Mail
WINNER
Mary’s Last Dance
by Mary Li
Penguin Random House Australia
FINALISTS
All Our Shimmering Skies, Trent Dalton (HarperCollins Publishers)
With My Little Eye, Sandra Hogan (Allen & Unwin)
Flyaway, Kathleen Jennings (Picador Australia)
From Where I Fell, Susan Johnson (Allen & Unwin)
Banks, Grantlee Kieza (ABC Books)
A Question of Colour, Pattie Lees with Adam C Lees (Magabala Books)
All the Murmuring Bones, A.G. Slatter (Titan Books)

Watch the ceremony
Congratulations to all the 2021 finalists and winners!