Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2026

The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2026 shortlists have now been released, with the winners set to be announced on Wednesday 25 February. Established in 1985, these awards celebrate excellence across Australian writing and are administered by the Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Victorian Government. The program recognises exceptional work across Fiction, Non Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Indigenous Writing, Children’s Literature and Writing for Young Adults, along with a prize for an Unpublished Manuscript. 

This year’s shortlists highlight the depth and diversity of Australian literature.  Each category winner will receive $25,000, and all winners become contenders for the prestigious Victorian Prize for Literature valued at $100,000. 

The shortlisted titles span an impressive range of powerful storytelling. Notable works in the Fiction category include A Piece of Red Cloth by Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr Stubb, Leonie Norrington, Djawa Burarrwanga and Djawundil Maymuru, Cannon by Lee Lai and Fierceland by Omar Musa. The Non-Fiction shortlist features titles such as Ankami by Debra Dank and Conspiracy Nation by Cam Wilson and Ariel Bogle. In Indigenous Writing, standout works include The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love and The Rot by Evelyn Araluen. Children’s Literature includes favourites such as Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles by Corey Tutt and Ben Williams and Once I Was a Giant by Zeno Sworder. The John Marsden Prize for Writing for Young Adults features titles such as How to Be Normal by Ange Crawford and Moonlight and Dust by Jasmin McGaughey.