2008 Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Prime Minister, the Honourable Kevin Rudd MP has announced the two 2008 winners of the new the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
“The judging panels are to be commended for the meticulous and thoughtful consideration they have given to the selection of Australian fiction and non-fiction entered in these new awards.
“The books they have chosen are an impressive indication of the outstanding breadth and quality of modern Australian literature.”
The Awards
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are a new initiative celebrating the contribution of Australian literature to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life.
The awards, which will be held annually, recognise literature’s importance to our national identity, community and economy.
A tax free prize of $100, 000 is awarded to the works judged to be of the highest literary merit in each of two categories:
- Fiction
- Non-fiction
Would you like to receive notification of the closing dates and entries in next year’s award? Our e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on announcements of winning authors, judges’ comments and awards’ events.
The awards are open to works written by Australian citizens and permanent residents. Authors, publishers and literary agents are eligible to enter works, first published in the calendar year prior to the awards.
Close to 200 works were entered in the fiction and non-fiction categories of the 2008 awards.
The fiction judges
Chair of the 2008fiction judging panel, Professor Peter Pierce, says judging the awards has confirmed his optimism about the state of Australian literature.
The non-fiction judges
Chair of 2008 Non-fiction judging panel, Professor Hilary Charlesworth says judging these awards has made her realise what a creative country Australia is.
In this section
Contacts
For further information please contact the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, at the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts:
Phone: 1800 707 889
Email: pmliteraryawards @environment.gov.au
For media inquiries phone: (02) 62759590, 0417 047 990
