The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards was an Australian literary award inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was a leading literary award within Australia, with $225,000 in prizemoney over 14 categories making it one of Australia's richest prizes, top categories offered up to $25,000 for 1st prize.
The awards were established by Peter Beattie, the then Premier of Queensland in 1999 and abolished by Premier Campbell Newman, shortly after winning the 2012 Queensland state election.
In response, the Queensland writing community has banded together to keep the awards going as the Queensland Literary Awards until funding is reinstated. There will be no prize money for the awards in 2012, but the judging panel will remain the same, and University of Queensland Press has agreed to continue to publish the winners of the Manuscript Award and The David Unaipon Award. Authors Krissy Kneen and Matthew Condon are the temporary co-ordinators of the awards.
Read more about Queensland Premier's Literary Awards: Fiction Book Award, Emerging Queensland Author – Manuscript Award, Unpublished Indigenous Writer – The David Unaipon Award, Non-Fiction Book Award, History Book Award – Faculty of Arts, University of Queensland Award, Children's Book Award – Mary Ryan's Award, Young Adult Book Award, Science Writers – Department of State Development, Trade and Innovation Award, Poetry Collection – Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award, Australian Short Story Collection – Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Award, Literary Work Advancing Public Debate – The Harry Williams Award, Film Script – The Pacific Film and Television Commission Award, Television Script – QUT Creative Industries Award, Drama Script (Stage) Award, Encouragement and Development Prize
Famous quotes containing the word literary:
“Society has really no graver interest than the well-being of the literary class.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)