Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
Your definitive guide to Australia’s best writing.
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Entries for 2023 Awards are now closed.
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.
The winners of the main suite of awards – the prizes for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Award for Indigenous Writing and Writing for Young Adults – each receive $25,000.
The winner of the Award for an Unpublished Manuscript receives $15,000 in prize money and, introduced in 2022, a two-week residency at the McCraith House in Dromana as part of a partnership between the Wheeler Centre and RMIT Culture.
The winners of the six main suite categories go on to contest the overall Victorian Prize for Literature, worth an additional $100,000. This is the single most valuable literary award in the country.
Application Conditions and Guidelines
Books published between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022 are eligible for entry into the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.
Please note, books published after close of entries (5pm AEST 31 August 2022) can be submitted as an advance proof copy along with a PDF file, or as a PDF file only. Bound manuscripts will not be accepted.
Click here for conditions and guidelines for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2023.
Click here for conditions and guidelines for the Award for Unpublished Manuscript.
Note: If you are a self-published author who is experiencing financial hardship and would like to request an exemption on the entry fee, please contact us on (03) 9094 7800 or at vpla@wheelercentre.com.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 2 February 2023.
Key dates for all 2023 awards
Entries open: Monday 8 August 2022
Close of entries: 5pm AEST Wednesday 31 August 2022
Shortlist announcement: Early December 2022
Winner announcement: Thursday 2 February 2023
Information and enquiries
For further information, please contact:
Xanthea O’Connor
Awards Coordinator
Email: vpla@wheelercentre.com
Telephone: (03) 9094 7800