Exciting news! The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2026 shortlist has just been announced.
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.
Prize for Fiction
A Piece of Red Cloth by Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubb, Leonie Norrington, Djawa Burarrwanga and Djawundil Maymuru
Cannon by Lee Lai
Fierceland by Omar Musa
The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen by Shokoofeh Azar
The Immigrants by Moreno Giovannoni
The Sun was Electric Light by Rachel Morton
Also highly commended were Desolation by Hossein Asgari, Discipline by Randa Abdel-Fattah amd The Slip by Miriam Webster.
Prize for Non-fiction
Ankami by Debra Dank
Conspiracy Nation by Cam Wilson & Ariel Bogle
Find Me at the Jaffa Gate by Micaela Sahhar
Looking from the North by Henry Reynolds
The Eagle and the Crow by JM Field
Prize for Indigenous Writing
The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? by Kaylene Whiskey and Natalie King OAM
The Eagle and the Crow by JM Field
The Rot by Evelyn Araluen
Windows and Mirrors by Djon Mundine
Also highly commended were A Savage Turn by Luke Patterson, Old Days by Marjorie 'Nunga' Williams and Weaving Country by Aunty Kim Wandin and Christine Joy, illustrated by Ashleigh Pugh.
Prize for Poetry
KONTRA by Eunice Andrada
The Rot by Evelyn Araluen
Two Hundred Million Musketeers by Ender Başkan
Also highly commended were Fivehundred Swimming Pools by Connor Weightman and The Dingo’s Noctuary by Judith Nangala Crispin.
Prize for Children's Literature
Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles by Corey Tutt, illustrated by Ben Williams
Creature Clinic by Gavin Aung Than
Once I Was a Giant by Zeno Sworder
The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe by Karen Foxlee
Also highly commended were My Mum is a Bird by Angie Cui, illustrated by Evie Barrow and Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa'Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, with Lyn White.
John Marsden Prize for Writing for Young Adults
How to Be Normal by Ange Crawford
Moonlight & Dust by Jasmin McGaughey
This Stays Between Us by Margo McGovern
Also highly commended were Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Ries and Weaving Us Together by Lay Maloney.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday 25 February 2026. Read more about the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and all the shortlisted titles here.
