Winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2023
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards!
WINNER OF FICTION AND WINNER OF THE OVERALL VICTORIAN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Cold Enough For Snow BY Jessica Au
At just under 100 pages, the premise of the book is deceptively simple: a mother and daughter travel a rain-misted Japan together, revealing gaps in their ability to communicate. Into these gaps, Au writes tenderly of mother-daughter relationships, of the immigrant experience of dislocation and of a profound love and appreciation for the transformative qualities of art. With its exquisite prose and hypnotic pace, Cold Enough for Snow is a cool, measured sip of water – a restorative tonic that refocuses our attention on the small, treasured details of connection and history.
WINNER OF INDIGENOUS WRITING
The Upwelling by Lystra Rose
This highly original fantasy novel by First Nations author Lystra Rose is a time-travel mystery that takes readers back to a pre-colonisation Australia.
When Kirra surfs a big wave and ends up in an ancient past, she must work together with two other teenagers – a dolphin caller and a language unweaver – to help save the clan from a malevolent spirit. Strong characterisation, fascinating depictions of culture and beautiful writing make this book a stand-out.
Ages 12 and up.
WINNER OF NONFICTION
Root & Branch: Essays on inheritance by Eda Gunaydin
I have come to see that I am an argumentative person who is frequently convinced that my angle, my take, on a matter, is the right one. This kind of delusional self-belief is not rewarded in many other spheres of social life, so I write essays.
There is a Turkish saying that one’s home is not where one is born, but where one grows full – doğduğun yer değil, doyduğun yer. Exquisitely written, Root & Branch unsettles neat descriptions of inheritance, belonging and place. Eda Gunaydin’s essays ask: what are the legacies of migration, apart from loss? And how do we find comfort in where we are?
WINNER OF POETRY
At the Altar of Touch by Gavin Yuan Gao
A collection of poetry that unpacks the complexity of family, grief, and cross-cultural and queer identity.
These richly allusive poems weigh violence and tenderness, wound and cure, history and future. Boldly and tenderly, they balance loss and gain, adventure and quiet, as they hum to one another of love and loss. This is a scintillating and exhilarating collection from an accomplished and distinctive new voice.
WINNER OF WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS
We Who Hunt the Hollow by Kate Murray
Post-apocalyptic Melbourne in the not-too-distant future? Check. Bad-arse matriarchal family of warriors? Check. Animal familiars that help vanquish the monsters from the void known as the Hollow? Check. Priscilla, the youngest member of a family of power-wielding warrior-women, will be hugely relatable to awkward teenagers as she struggles with her new power to summon monsters. For ages 12+.
WINNER OF PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Astronomy: Sky Country by Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli
The latest book in the First Knowledges series explores the fascinating connections between cultural and environmental practices and the behaviour of celestial bodies, particularly the Earth's moon. It shows how ancient Aboriginal knowledges and stories provide important information about the waxing and waning moon, the tides, and much more.
This is a fascinating and highly engaging deep dive into astronomy and the sky from a First Nations perspective.