2018 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
Winners of the 2018 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
Victorian Prize for Literature, and the Prize for Non-Fiction
The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing)
The Prize for Fiction
Australia Day by Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing)
The Prize for Drama
Rice by Michele Lee (Playlab)
The Prize for Poetry
Argosy by Bella Li (Vagabond Press)
The Prize for Writing for Young Adults
Living on Hope Street by Demet Divaroren (Allen & Unwin)
People’s Choice Award
Ida by Alison Evans (Echo)
The Shortlist
FICTION
A New England Affair by Steven Carroll (HarperCollins)
Australia Day by Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing)
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin)
The Choke by Sofie Laguna (Allen & Unwin)
The Restorer by Michael Sala (Text Publishing)
Taboo by Kim Scott (Picador Australia)
NON-FICTION
The Museum of Words: A Memoir of Language, Writing and Mortality by Georgia Blain (Scribe Publications)
Anaesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness by Kate Cole-Adams (Text Publishing)
The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing)
For a Girl: A True Story of Secrets, Motherhood and Hope by Mary-Rose MacColl (Allen & Unwin)
No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson by Jeff Sparrow (Scribe Publications)
Tracker by Alexis Wright (Giramondo)
DRAMA
Rice by Michele Lee (Playlab)
Black is the New White by Nakkiah Lui (Sydney Theatre Company)
The Rasputin Affair by Kate Mulvany (The Ensemble Theatre)
POETRY
Argosy by Bella Li (Vagabond Press)
The Metronome by Jennifer Maiden (Giramondo)
redactor by Eddie Paterson (Whitmore Press)
WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Living on Hope Street by Demet Divaroren (Allen & Unwin)
Ida by Alison Evans (Echo)
Because of You by Pip Harry (UQP)
Highly Commended
FICTON
No More Boats by Felicity Castagna (Giramondo)
Terra Nullius by Claire Coleman (Hachette)
Atlantic Black by A.S. Patrić (Transit Lounge)
Plane Tree Drive by Lynette Washington (MidnightSun)
NON-FICTION
They Cannot Take the Sky: Stories from Detention edited by Michael Green, André Dao, Angelica Neville, Dana Affleck and Sienna Merope (Allen & Unwin)
POETRY
I Love Poetry by Michael Farrell (Giramondo)
Reading for a Quiet Morning by Petra White (GloriaSMH Press)
YOUNG ADULT
In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black (Hardie Grant Egmont)
The Judges
FICTION
Jeanine Leane, Jaclyn Crupi, Tamara Zimet, Thuy On (convener)
NON-FICTION
Quinn Eades, Jack Latimore, David Ryding, Jordy Silverstein, Sophie Cunnigham (convener)
DRAMA
Chris Kohn, Edwina Lunn, Jane Harrison (convener)
POETRY
Gig Ryan, Benjamin Laird, Emilie Zoey Baker (convener)
WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Alia Gabres, Jordi Kerr, Marlee Jane Ward (convener)
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. The awards are administered by the Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Premier of Victoria.
