Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
Your definitive guide to Australia’s best writing.
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, Writing for Young Adults and Children’s Literature – each receive $25,000. The winner of the Award for an Unpublished Manuscript receives $15,000.
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.
Entries for 2024 Awards are now open
Enter the main suite of the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards here.
Enter the 2024 Award for an Unpublished Manuscript here.
Entries close 5pm AEST Sunday 10 September 2023.
Key dates for all 2024 awards
Entries open: Friday 18 August 2023
Close of entries: 5pm AEST Sunday 10 September 2023
Shortlist announcement: Early December 2023
Winner announcement: Thursday 1 February 2024
Application Conditions and Guidelines
For awards in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, writing for young adults and Indigenous writing works published between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023 are eligible to enter. For the new award for children’s literature books published in 2022 and 2023 (between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023) are eligible. Please note, books published after close of entries (5pm AEST Sunday 10 September 2023) 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Click here for conditions and guidelines for the Award for Unpublished Manuscript.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 suffering financial hardship and would like to request an exemption on the entry fee, please contact us on (03) 9094 7802 or at vpla@wheelercentre.com.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 1 February 2024.
Information and enquiries
For further information, please contact:
Xanthea O’Connor
Program and Special Projects Producer
Email: vpla@wheelercentre.com
Telephone: (03) 9094 7802