Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
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.

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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 The winner of the Award for an Unpublished Manuscript receives $15,000.
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. The 2022 shortlist is listed below, and the winners were announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 3 February 2022.
Winners of the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
Victorian Prize for Literature
Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience by Veronica Gorrie (Scribe Publications)
Fiction
Smokehouse by Melissa Manning (University of Queensland Press)
Non-Fiction
The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Drama
Milk by Dylan Van Den Berg (Currency Press and The Street Theatre)
Poetry
Trigger Warning by Maria Takolander (University of Queensland Press)
Writing for Young Adults
Girls in Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Indigenous Writing
Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience by Veronica Gorrie (Scribe Publications)
Unpublished Manuscript
Fauna of Mirrors by Keshe Chow
People’s Choice Award
Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim