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The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award
About the award
Part of the Queensland Literary Awards, The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award is for an outstanding book of fiction or non-fiction by a Queensland author.
Eligibility
- Books by Queensland authors who are currently living in the state and can show proof of address.
- To confirm you're eligible to enter this category, download the full 2025 terms and conditions of entry document.
Prize
$15,000 sponsored by The Courier-Mail.
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
- 5 - 19 August: The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award voting period
- 12 September: awards ceremony at State Library of Queensland
Award process
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Nominators do not submit nominations directly to this award category.
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When a nominator enters a book into The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award or The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award, they indicate that the writer is a Queensland author. These Queensland-authored books form the eligible list.
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Judges in The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award and The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award categories will select The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award shortlist from the eligible books.
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State Library runs a public online vote (open to anybody in Australia, one vote per person) during August. The book that receives the highest number of votes wins.
Congratulations to the 2024 finalists!
Thanks to everyone who voted in 2024. The winner of The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award was revealed at the awards ceremony on 5 September 2024.
Breath - Winner
Carly-Jay Metcalfe (University of Queensland Press)
Judges' comments:
An uplifting account of the writer's experiences living with cystic fibrosis. Surviving a lung transplant aged 21 and the multiple complications thereafter, Metcalfe weaves a triumphant tale of indomitable spirit told with a passion and warmth that's irresistible.
The Remarkable Mrs Reibey
Grantlee Kieza (ABC Books)
Judges' comments:
Kieza excavates the life of a woman transported in disgrace to the colony of New South Wales in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Remarkable Mrs Reibey offers an expertly researched and crisply told tale of how a convict punished by the Crown of England rose in triumph to become Australia's richest businesswoman.
Ghost Cities
Siang Lu (University of Queensland Press)
Judges' comments:
Framed as a contemporary satire, Ghost Cities not only conjures the Truman Show-like Chinese city of Port Man Tou but imagines an ancient labyrinth as a mythical microcosm of society. Richly constructed, it celebrates the books and ideas that inspire artisanal and artistic creation.
Immaculate
Anna McGahan (Allen & Unwin)
Judges' comments:
Anna McGahan pokes at religion to pursue a conversation about its place in Australia. Frances and her ex-husband, leader-elect of a misogynistic cult, undermine each other while caring for their dying child. The gritty narrative is pierced and raptured with illusion and fairytale.
The Great Undoing
Sharlene Allsopp (Ultimo Press)
Judges' comments:
In The Great Undoing, Sharlene Allsopp takes readers on a personal and meta journey into a not-too-distant dystopic future. Allsopp dissolves the strictures and structures of conventional and consensus realism to give voice and form to First Nations philosophies of temporality, relationality and Country.
The Naturalist of Amsterdam
Melissa Ashley (Affirm Press)
Judges' comments:
An ambitious and well-realised work of historical fiction focused on the life and work of real-life naturalist Dorothea Graff and her mother, Maria Sybilla Merian. The novel courageously and vividly re-imagines of the lives of these extraordinary women, and the natural world they dedicated their lives to understanding.
The Bird Art of William T. Cooper
Wendy Cooper (NLA Publishing)
Judges' comments:
William T. Cooper (1934–2015) is considered one of the finest observers and artists of Australian birds. Following his death, and to celebrate their life together, his widow Wendy has brought together his sketches, drawings and paintings in a beautiful volume that presents a stunning record of a life's work dedicated to capturing the variety and astonishing beauty of the country's birdlife.
How to Knit a Human
Anna Jacobson (NewSouth Publishing)
Judges' comments:
How to Knit a Human follows a young woman’s shattering episode with ECT in a secure unit in hospital and then through her long recovery. This is a poetic account of the process the author goes through to put herself together again after a devastating experience.