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Nominations are now open for the 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious literary awards. The awards celebrate South Australia's writing culture by offering national and State-based literary prizes, as well as three fellowships for South Australian writers.

The State Library of South Australia is proud to manage the awards which are presented every two years during Adelaide Writers’ Week as part of the Adelaide Festival. The awards offer a total prize pool of $167,500 across six national and five South Australian categories, including the coveted Premier’s Award worth $25,000 for the overall winner.

Introduced in 1986 by the Government of South Australia, the awards provide an opportunity to highlight the importance of our unique South Australian writers and contribute to and support community engagement with literature.

Award categories include:

National Awards for published works

  • Premier’s Award ($25,000)
  • Children’s Literature Award ($15,000)
  • Young Adult Fiction Award ($15,000)
  • Fiction Award ($15,000)
  • John Bray Poetry Award ($15,000)
  • Non-Fiction Award ($15,000)

South Australian Awards and Fellowships

  • Jill Blewett Playwright’s Award ($12,500)
  • Arts South Australia Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award ($10,000)
  • Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship ($15,000)
  • Max Fatchen Fellowship ($15,000)
  • Tangkanungku Pintyanthi Fellowship ($15,000)

Geoff Strempel, Director State Library of South Australia, says,

“The writing and telling of stories is universal, and literary awards like the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature provide an opportunity to uncover and celebrate great Australian writers and help further promote their stories. As the preserver of the state’s stories and memories we are passionate about telling those stories that make us who we are today. We are delighted to once again coordinate and auspice the awards program for the 2022 Adelaide Festival.”

Nominations for the 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature close  on Wednesday 30 June 2021 at 5pm.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Lucy Guster
Acting Manager Engagement and Marketing
State Library of South Australia
Phone 08 8207 7330
Mobile: 0409 091 829
lucy.guster@sa.gov.au

Download the Media Release