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Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2023

The 2023 Prime Minister's Literary Awards went to Unmaking Angas Downs: Myth and History on a Central Australian Pastoral Station by Shannyn Palmer (Australian History), Open Your Heart to Country by Jasmine Seymour (Children's Literature) and Cold Enough For Snow by Jessica Au (Fiction), with winners in 3 more categories. 30 books made the shortlist across 6 categories.

Winners

Australian History

  1. Unmaking Angas Downs: Myth and History on a Central Australian Pastoral Station by Shannyn Palmersource (opens in a new tab)

Children's Literature

  1. Open Your Heart to Country by Jasmine Seymoursource (opens in a new tab)

Fiction

  1. Cold Enough For Snow by Jessica Ausource (opens in a new tab)

Non-fiction

  1. My Father and Other Animals: How I Took on the Family Farm by Sam Vincentsource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. At the Altar of Touch by Gavin Yuan Gaosource (opens in a new tab)

Young Adult Literature

  1. The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searlesource (opens in a new tab)

Shortlist

Australian History

  1. Black Lives, White Law: Locked Up & Locked Out in Australia by Russell Markssource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm by Alan Atkinsonsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Justice in Kelly Country: The Story of the Cop Who Hunted Australia’s Most Notorious Bushrangers by Lachlan Strahansource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Saving the Reef: The human story behind one of Australia’s greatest environmental treasures by Rohan Lloydsource (opens in a new tab)

Children's Literature

  1. 11 Words for Love by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Maxine Beneba Clarkesource (opens in a new tab)
  2. My Strange, Shrinking Parents by Zeno Swordersource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Dunggiirr Brothers and the Caring Song of the Whale by Aunty Shaa Smith and Yandaarrasource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon by Gabrielle Wangsource (opens in a new tab)

Fiction

  1. Losing Face by George Haddadsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Other Houses by Paddy O’Reillysource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Lovers by Yumna Kassabsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlanesource (opens in a new tab)

Non-fiction

  1. A World in a Shell: Snail Stories for a Time of Extinctions by Thom van Doorensource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong by Louisa Limsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Shirley Hazzard: A Writing Life by Brigitta Olubassource (opens in a new tab)
  4. We Come With This Place by Debra Danksource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. Clean by Scott-Patrick Mitchellsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Exactly As I Am by Rae Whitesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Harvest Lingo by Lionel Fogartysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Jaguar by Sarah Holland-Battsource (opens in a new tab)

Young Adult Literature

  1. Ask No Questions by Eva Collinssource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Sugar by Carly Nugentsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Upwelling by Lystra Rosesource (opens in a new tab)
  4. What We All Saw by Mike Lucassource (opens in a new tab)

About the Prime Minister's Literary Awards

Winners and shortlists from Creative Australia's per-year winners, shortlist and judges pages (2008-2024) and its 2025 shortlist and winners media releases. Year is the award year. Fiction and non-fiction run from 2008, children's and young adult from 2010, poetry and Australian history from 2012 (the earlier standalone Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History is excluded). Joint winners appear as separate Winner rows. Fallbacks and fixes: 2017 fiction comes from Wikipedia because the official 2017 page repeats the 2018 fiction shortlist; the 2023 history winner is cited to the 2023 winners release because the official page doesn't mark it; author-name typos and misattributions on the official pages are corrected (e.g. Bill Gammage, Evie Wyld, K. M. Kruimink); the TV series Immigration Nation on the 2012 history shortlist is excluded as not a book, so expected counts cover books only.

Organization: Creative Australia. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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