Shortlist announced for 2024 South Australian Literary Awards
The State Library of South Australia is pleased to announce the shortlist for the renamed 2024 South Australian Literary Awards. From a total of 827 entries, 46 writers have been shortlisted, including debut and established writers.
Funded by the state Government, the biennial awards offer a total prize pool of $167,500 across six national and five South Australian categories, including the $25,000 Premier’s Award for the overall winner. Also, three $15,000 fellowships are available for South Australian writers.
Introduced in 1986 and presented by the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Literary Awards (formerly called the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature) celebrate Australia's writing culture with national and state-based literary prizes across various genres. The Awards support local writers, the literary community, and public engagement with literature.
Among the shortlisted national finalists for 2024 are South Australian writer Shannon Burns for the Non-fiction Award and poet Jill Jones for the John Bray Poetry Award. Showcasing the exceptional talent thriving within our local literary community, a record number of South Australian writers have been shortlisted for the South Australian Awards and Fellowships.
Thank you to all authors who submitted their work for the Awards. Judges were impressed with the high standard of entries this year, commenting the material they read was superbly written, exemplary, beautifully crafted, a cracking read and compellingly created. They were also impressed to see the strong diverse voices visible across the shortlist.
Director State Library of South Australia, Geoff Strempel, says,
“We are thrilled to share the shortlist for this year’s South Australian Literary Awards and congratulate the shortlisted writers. These outstanding works highlight the richness of contemporary literature and the talent of writers who push the boundaries of storytelling.
“It’s exciting to see both emerging writers, as well as established authors acknowledged in these Awards. From a diverse array of voices and narratives, their words inspire and captivate us.”
Minister for Arts, Andrea Michaels, says,
“Congratulations to all the incredible writers who have been shortlisted for this year’s South Australian Literary Awards. Australia is home to many talented writers and authors and the Malinauskas Government is delighted to be supporting their extraordinary storytelling with these refreshed awards including the $25,000 Premier’s Award.”
Winners, including the Premier’s Award, will be announced in a special ceremony at the State Library of South Australia’s iconic Mortlock Chamber in October 2024. People can tune in to watch the live stream of the award night and be among the first to know the winners.
For more information visit South Australian Literary Awards.
The 2024 South Australian Literary Awards shortlist is:
National Awards for published works:
Fiction Award ($15,000)
- All that's left unsaid by Tracey Lien (HQ Fiction: An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
- Hydra by Adriane Howell (Transit Lounge)
- Permafrost by SJ Norman (University of Queensland Press)
- The in-between by Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin)
- West girls by Laura Woollett (Scribe)
Non-fiction Award ($15,000)
- Childhood by Shannon Burns (Text Publishing)
- Fat girl dancing by Kris Kneen (Text Publishing)
- I’d rather not by Robert Skinner (Black Inc.)
- Personal score by Ellen van Neerven (University of Queensland Press)
- The ballad of Abdul Wade by Ryan Butta (Affirm Press)
Young Adult Fiction Award ($15,000)
- Completely normal (and other lies) by Biffy James (Hardie Grant Publishing)
- If you could see the sun by Ann Liang (HQ Young Adult: An imprint of HarperCollins) Publishers
- Sugar by Carly Nugent (Text Publishing)
- Sugar town queens by Malla Nunn (Allen & Unwin)
- The brink by Holden Sheppard (Text Publishing)
Children’s Literature Award ($15,000)
- Being Jimmy Baxter by Fiona Lloyd (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Exit through the gift shop by Maryam Master (Pan Macmillan Australia)
- Runt by Craig Silvey (Allen & Unwin)
- Scar town by Tristan Bancks (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Stay for dinner by Sandhya Parappukkaran (Hardie Grant Children's Publishing)
- The way of the dog by Zana Fraillon (University of Queensland Press)
John Bray Poetry Award ($15,000)
- Acrobat music: new and selected poems by Jill Jones (Puncher & Wattmann)
- At the altar of touch by Gavin Yuan Gao (University of Queensland Press)
- Human looking by Andy Jackson (Giramondo Publishing)
- Hunger and predation by Pooja Mittal Biswas (Corodite Books)
- The singer and other poems by Kim Cheng Boey (Corodite Books)
South Australian Awards and Fellowships:
Jill Blewett Playwright’s Award ($12,500)
- Hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s by Rebecca Meston
- Log boy by Anthony Nocera
- Mallee ward by Michael Hill
- Paradise lost by Melissa-Kelly Franklin
- Safe by Nina Pearce
- Spare a thought for Jana Wendt by Nicola Watson
- The spoil by Piri Eddy
Arts South Australia Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award ($10,000)
- Boy swimmer by Gina Inverarity
- Catastrophic by Alastair Sarre
- Dear Vincent by Heather Taylor Johnson
- Out of place by Robin Boord
- Salt upon the water by Lyn Dickens
- The tongue is a witch by Alicia Carter
Tangkanungku Pintyanthi Fellowship ($15,000)
- A life half lived by Karen Wyld
- Kali (boomerang) by Ali Cobby Eckermann
- Monologues, poems and ramblings for you, them, us… and me… by Alexis West
Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship ($15,000)
- A life half lived by Karen Wyld
- Queen pawn by Katerina Bryant
- Radiance: a state of being by Molly Murn
Max Fatchen Fellowship ($15,000)
- Maisy (working title) by Allayne Webster
- The children of Elphinstone by James A Cooper
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Tracey Parnis
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
State Library of South Australia
T: 08 7424 6182
E: tracey.parnis@sa.gov.au