I was excited to hear about the shortlists for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards! Its been a long wait – the past few years have seen the shortlists announced in May-June with winners announced in July-August, but finally here it is! Congratulations to all nominated.
As announced yesterday by the Minister for Arts.
‘The 2014 shortlists feature some of Australia’s most significant and recognised writers, as well as gifted debut authors across all six award categories: fiction, poetry, non-fiction, Australian history, young adult fiction and children’s fiction. The shortlists span many genres, styles and subjects, reflecting on contemporary Australian life, significant moments in Australian and world history as well as gripping readers with fictional stories that captivate young and old readers alike.’
Below are the shortlists for the children’s and young adult books – for the full list please click HERE. (I don’t think anyone will be surprised to see Man Booker Prize Winner Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North on the shortlist – what a year he has had!)
The children’s and young adult shortlist feature some amazing books. Many of them have been nominated several times (NSW, Victorian & WA Premier’s Literary Awards, the Children’s Book Council of Australia, Readings Prize, Aurealis Awards and more) and some are already winners. I’ve read five of the shortlisted books below, but only had time to review three of them – and have three other titles in my ‘to be read’ pile which is slowly growing into a little book mountain (although some are e-books and are in an imaginary book mountain). If only I had more time!
The books feature themes about death and grief and overcoming adversity, growing up, family, divorce, bullying, first love, belonging and home, summer and lessons learned. There’s gothic fairytale, lullabies, adventure, mystery and bravery in these novels and picture books. Read them!
Click on the titles below to read my reviews of some of the shortlists – they are all wonderful books. Read all of my reviews HERE.
- The Incredible here and Now by Felicity Castagna
- Song for a Scarlet Runner by Julie Hunt
- My Life as an Alphabet by Barry Jonsberg
2014 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards – Shortlists
Click on the book cover images for a link for a Goodreads synopsis.
Young Adult Fiction
Children’s Fiction
Christmas is coming people! As well as these nominated books have a look through these blog posts for some other great book ideas for teenagers and children.
- Award Winners Children’s Book Council of Australia – 2014 Book of the Year
- Notable Australian Children’s Fiction
- 2014 Inky Awards Shortlist (As voted by teenagers)
Established in 2008, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are Australia’s richest literary prize with a total prize pool of $600,000 to winners and shortlisted authors across the six categories.
These awards are testament to the strength and talent of Australia’s writers.
Winners will be announced before the end of the year.
For more information about the 2014 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards – please click HERE
52 replies to “2014 Prime Minister's Literary Awards Shortlists”
So glad to see Felicity Castagan up for the awards! Really loved The Incredible Here and Now!
I know – it was a wonderful read! She has been nominated for a heap of awards. Looking forward to reading something new from her. :-)
Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
Reblogged this on MARSocial Author Business Enhancement Interviews.
Comments are closed.