Prime Minister's Literary Awards Shortlists Announced For 2021
22 October 2021
Prime Minister, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts
The 2021 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists capture the full diversity and range of Australia’s vibrant literary sector.
The shortlists have been announced today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher.
The Awards acknowledge the significant contribution literature, history and poetry have in connecting us to Australian voices and our story as a nation.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this year’s shortlists celebrated Australia’s talented literary sector in a year when so many Australians turned to reading.
“Australia’s storytellers and historians have provided a place for reflection as we have faced the ongoing challenges of the pandemic,” the Prime Minister said.
“That’s the power of our literature and the stories being told. Congratulations to everyone shortlisted, and thank you to the judges.”
Minister Fletcher said the 2021 shortlists highlight the exceptional talent of Australian writers.
“This year’s shortlists have captured diverse voices that make up Australia’s talented literary community,” Minister Fletcher said.
“Our writers, poets, historians and illustrators have continued to produce works of literary excellence, making the judging for this year’s shortlist incredibly difficult. We received more than 470 entries, and our judges had the difficult task of selecting 30 books.
“Congratulations to the shortlisted authors and thank you to the judges for their expertise and commitment.”
Winners of the 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards will be announced in December.
For more information on the shortlists, including judging panel comments, visit: www.arts.gov.au/pm-literary-awards/current-awards
The 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlists are:
Fiction
A Treacherous Country, K.M. Kruimink, Allen & Unwin
In the Time of Foxes, Jo Lennan, Simon & Schuster: Scribner Australia
Lucky’s, Andrew Pippos, Pan Macmillan: Picador Australia
The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld, Penguin Random House: Vintage
The Labyrinth, Amanda Lohrey, Text Publishing
Non-fiction
Flight Lines: Across the Globe on a Journey with the Astonishing Ultramarathon Birds, Andrew Darby, Allen & Unwin
The Altar Boys, Suzanne Smith, HarperCollins Publishing: ABC Books
The Details: On Love, Death and Reading, Tegan Bennett Daylight, Simon & Schuster: Scribner Australia
The Stranger Artist: Life at the Edge of Kimberley Painting, Quentin Sprague, Hardie Grant Publishing
Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse, Cassandra Pybus, Allen & Unwin
Australian history
Ceremony Men: Making Ethnography and the Return of the Strehlow Collection, Jason M. Gibson, State University of New York Press
Pathfinders: A History of Aboriginal Trackers in NSW, Michael Bennett, NewSouth Publishing
People of the River: Lost Worlds of Early Australia, Grace Karskens, Allen & Unwin
Representing Australian Aboriginal Music and Dance 1930-1970, Amanda Harris, Bloomsbury Publishing
The Convict Valley: The Bloody Struggle on Australia's Early Frontier, Mark Dunn, Allen & Unwin
Poetry
Change Machine, Jaya Savige, University of Queensland Press
Homer Street, Laurie Duggan, Giramondo Publishing
Nothing to Declare, Mags Webster, Puncher & Wattmann
Shorter Lives, John A. Scott, Puncher & Wattmann
The Strangest Place, New and Selected Poems, Stephen Edgar, Black Pepper
Children’s literature
Fly on the Wall, Remy Lai, Walker Books Australia,
How to Make a Bird, Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Matt Ottley, Walker Books Australia
The January Stars, Kate Constable, Allen & Unwin
The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst, Jaclyn Moriarty, illustrated by Kelly Canby, Allen & Unwin
The Year the Maps Changed, Danielle Binks, Hachette Australia: Lothian Children’s Books
Young adult literature
Loner, Georgina Young, Text Publishing
Metal Fish, Falling Snow, Cath Moore, Text Publishing
The End of the World is Bigger than Love, Davina Bell, Text Publishing
The F Team, Rawah Arja , Giramondo Publishing
When Rain Turns to Snow, Jane Godwin, Hachette Australia: Lothian Children’s Books
