The Prime Minister's Literary Awards Shortlist for 2025 has been announced. These awards have a significant prize pool ($600K) and serve to recognise 'established and emerging Australia writers, illustrators, poets and historians'.
Here are the 2025 shortlisted titles in the categories I have most interest in.
Fiction
- Emily Maguire - Rapture
- Fiona McFarlane - Highway 13
- Michelle de Krester - Theory and Practice
- Mykeaela Saunders - Always Will Be
- Tim Winton - Juice
I have read and adored Rapture. I have had my eye on the de Krester and the McFarlane as both were shortlisted for the Miles Franklin, and of course de Krester won the Stella Prize this year. I am intrigued by the Tim Winton and will need to see if I can fit it in to my reading schedule too. This is one of those shortlists where I would be happy with anyone winning.
Non-Fiction
- James Bradley - Deep Water
- Adele Dumont - The Pulling
- Rick Morton - Mean Streak
- Khin Myint - Fragile Creatures
- Samah Sabawi - Cactus Pear for My Beloved
I have read none of these shortlisted titles. However I am familiar with Rick Morton's work - both his memoir One Hundred Years of Dirt (2018) and his journalism. Mean Streak is his book on Robodebt - an important work on the illegal federal government scheme which traumatised so many poor people.
Australian History
- Darren Rix and Craig Cormick - Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People
- Gerladine Fela - Critical Care: Nurses on the frontline of Australia's AIDS Crisis
- Peter Kirkpatrick - The Wild Reciter: Poetry and Popular Culture in Australia 1890-2020
- Amanda Laureen - Australia in 100 Words
- Clare Wright - Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala changed the course of Australian democracy
The PM Literary awards also cover Children's Literature, Young Adult Literature and Poetry. For information on these categories and on all the nominated titles, see the Creative Australia website. The winners will be announced on 29 September 2025.