The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) are an annual prize for outstanding literary works. The award was announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.Call for entries (22 February 2008)
The awards were designed as "a new initiative celebrating the contribution of Australian literature to the nation's cultural and intellectual life." The awards are held annually and initially provided a tax-free prize of A$100,000 in each category, making it Australia's richest literary award in total. In 2011, the prize money was split into $80,000 for each category winner and $5,000 for up to four short-listed entries. The award was initially given in four categories – fiction, non-fiction, young adult and children's fiction – as selected by three judging panels. In 2012, a poetry category was added and the former Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History was incorporated into the award. To be eligible, writers "must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia."
History For the inaugural 2008 awards, six Australians were appointed by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts to the judging panels: three each for the fiction and non-fiction awards. The final decisions on the shortlist and winners for the awards was made by Prime Minister (Kevin Rudd) based on the judging panels' recommendations.
Two new award categories were announced on 30 March 2010: "young adults' fiction" and "children's fiction." The prize for both new awards was also $100,000; its entries were judged by one judging panel.
Entries for the 2011 awards opened in January 2011 and an annual timetable was implemented: the shortlist was announced in late May and winners in early July. The awards were restructured to provide greater recognition for shortlisted authors. In each category, the winning book was awarded $80,000; $5,000 was awarded to up to four shortlisted titles. The eligibility criteria were extended to include e-books, and wordless picture books were eligible in the children's fiction category. The panellists from 2010 were returned for 2011.
In 2012, a new award for poetry was announced and the Prize for Australian History was incorporated.
Winners Year Fiction Non-fiction Young adult fiction Children's fiction Poetry Australian history2008The Zookeeper's War by Steven ConteOchre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers by Philip JonesNot awarded (2008-2009)Not awarded (2008-2011)2009The Boat by Nam LeHouse of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann, and Nelly-Kroeger Mann by Evelyn Juers, andDrawing the Global Colour Line by Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds2010Dog Boy by Eva HornungThe Colony: A History of Early Sydney by Grace KarskensConfessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God by Bill CondonStar Jumps by Lorraine Marwood2011Traitor by Stephen DaisleyThe Hard Light of Day by Rod MossGraffiti Moon by Cath CrowleyShake a Leg by Boori Monty Pryor and Jan Ormerod2012Foal's Bread by Gillian MearsAn Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark by Mark McKennaWhen We Were Two by Robert NewtonGoodnight, Mice!, written by Frances Watts and illustrated by Judy WatsonInterferon Psalms by Luke DaviesThe Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage2013 Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser The Australian Moment by George Megalogenis Fog a Dox by Bruce Pascoe Red by Libby Gleeson Jam Tree Gully: Poems by John Kinsella Farewell, Dear People by Ross McMullin2014 A World of Other People by Steven Carroll, and The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan Moving Among Strangers by Gabrielle Carey, andMadeleine: A Life of Madeleine St John by Helen Trinca The Incredible Here and Now by Felicity Castagna Silver Buttons by Bob Graham Drag Down to Unlock or Place an Emergency Call by Melinda Smith Broken Nation: Australians in the Great War by Joan Beaumont, andAustralia's Secret War: How Unionists Sabotaged Our Troops in World War II by Hal G.P. Colebatch2015 The Golden Age by Joan London John Olsen: An Artist's Life by Darleen Bungey, andWild Bleak Bohemia: Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay Gordon and Henry Kendall by Michael Wilding The Protected by Claire Zorn One Minute's Silence by David Metzenthen and illustrated by Michael Camilleri Poems 1957–2013 by Geoffrey Lehmann Charles Bean by Ross Coulthart, andThe Spy Catchers – The Official History of ASIO Vol 1 by David Horner2016 The Life of Houses by Lisa Gorton and The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics by Sheila Fitzpatrick, andThea Astley: Inventing her own Weather by Karen Lamb A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay Sister Heart by Sally Morgan The Hazards by Sarah Holland-Batt The Story of Australia's People. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia by Geoffrey Blainey, andLet My People Go: The untold story of Australia and the Soviet Jews 1959–89 by Sam Lipski and Suzanne D Rutland2017Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O'NeillQuicksilver by Nicolas RothwellWords in Deep Blue by Cath CrowleyHome in the Rain by Bob Graham, andDragonfly Song by Wendy OrrHeadwaters by Anthony LawrenceAtomic Thunder: The Maralinga Story by Elizabeth Tynan2018Border Districts by Gerald MurnaneAsia's Reckoning by Richard McGregorThis Is My Song by Richard YaxleyPea Pod Lullaby by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael KingBlindness and Rage: A Phantasmagoria by Brian CastroJohn Curtin's War: The coming of war in the Pacific, and reinventing Australia, volume 1 by John Edwards2019The Death of Noah Glass by Gail JonesThe Bible in Australia: A Cultural History by Meredith LakeThe Things That Will Not Stand by Michael Gerard BauerHis Name Was Walter by Emily RoddaSun Music: New and Selected Poems by Judith BeveridgeHalf the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955–1964 by Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell2020The Yield by Tara June WinchSongspirals: Sharing Women's Wisdom of Country through Songlines by Gay'Wu Group of WomenandSea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina ThompsonHow It Feels to Float by Helena FoxCooee Mittigar: A Song on Darug Songlines by Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson (illustrator)The Lost Arabs by Omar SakrMeeting the Waylo: Aboriginal Encounters in the Archipelago by Tiffany Shellam2021The Labyrinth by Amanda LohreyThe Stranger Artist: Life at the edge of Kimberley painting by Quentin SpragueMetal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath MooreFly on the Wall by Remy Lai andHow to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay and Matt Ottley (illustrator)The Strangest Place: New and selected poems by Stephen EdgarPeople of the River: Lost worlds of early Australia by Grace Karskens2022Red Heaven by Nicolas RothwellRogue Forces: An Explosive Insiders’ Account of Australian SAS War Crimes in Afghanistan by Mark WillacyThe Gaps by Leanne HallMina and the Whole Wide World by Sherryl Clark and Briony Stewart (illustrator)Human Looking by Andy JacksonSemut: The Untold Story of a Secret Australian Operation in WWII Borneo by Christine Helliwell2023Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica AuMy Father and Other Animals by Sam VincentThe Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred SearleOpen Your Heart to Country by Jasmine SeymourAt the Altar of Touch by Gavin Yuan GaoUnmaking Angas Downs by Shannyn Palmer2024Anam by André DaoClose to the Subject: Selected Works by Daniel BrowningWe Could Be Something by Will KostakisTamarra: A Story of Termites on Gurindji Country by Violet Wadrill, Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal, Leah Leaman, Cecelia Edwards, Cassandra Algy, Felicity Meakins, Briony Barr & Gregory CrocettiThe Cyprian by Amy CrutchfieldDonald Horne: A Life in the Lucky Country by Ryan Cropp2025Theory & Practice by Michelle de KretserMean Streak by Rick MortonThe Invocations by Krystal SutherlandLeo and Ralph by Peter CarnavasThe Other Side of Daylight: New and Selected Poems by David BrooksCritical Care: Nurses on the Frontline of Australia's AIDS Crisis by Geraldine Fela2026A Piece of Red Cloth by Leonie Norrington, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, Djawa Burarrwanga & Djawundil MaymuruThe Red House by Kate WildDrift by Pip HarrySong of a Thousand Seas by Zana FraillonTwo Hundred Million Musketeers by Ender BaşkanThe Southern Frontier by Rohan Howitt
Winners and shortlists Australian history +PMLA for Australian History winners and shortlistsYearAuthorTitleResultRef.2012Winner1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of AustraliaFinalistBreaking the Sheep's BackIndifferent Inclusion: Aboriginal people and the Australian NationRenegade Films AustraliaImmigration Nation: The Secret History of Us2013Farewell, dear peopleWinnerFinalistSandakanGough Whitlam2014Broken Nation: Australians in the Great WarWinnerAustralia's Secret War: How Unionists Sabotaged Our Troops in World War IIFirst Victory 1914FinalistArthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy2015Charles BeanWinnerFinalistDescent into HellMenzies at War2016Winner and Suzanne D RutlandLet My People Go: The untold story of Australia and the Soviet Jews 1959–89 and Valerie MuntRed Professor: The Cold War Life of Fred RoseFinalistNed Kelly: A Lawless Life2017Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga StoryWinnerFinalistValian for Truth: The Life of Chester Wilmot, War Correspondent Evatt: A Life A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off 2018John Curtin's War: The coming of war in the Pacific, and reinventing Australia, Volume 1WinnerBeautiful Balts: From Displaced Persons to New AustraliansFinalistHidden in Plain View: The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney Indigenous and Other Australians Since 19012019WinnerDancing in Shadows: Histories of Nyungar PerformanceFinalistDeep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient AustraliaYou Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World2020Meeting the Waylo: Aboriginal Encounters in the Archipelago WinnerFrom Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting Finalist and Peter DaviesSludge: Disaster on Victoria's GoldfieldsProgressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and Transpacific Exchange Shaped American Reform 2021People of the River: Lost worlds of early AustraliaWinnerPathfinders: A history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW FinalistCeremony Men: Making Ethnography and the Return of the Strehlow Collection Representing Australian Aboriginal Music and Dance 1930-1970 2022Semut: The Untold Story of a Secret Australian Operation in WWII Borneo WinnerWhite Russians, Red Peril: A Cold War History of Migration to Australia FinalistReturn to Uluru Harlem Nights: The Secret History of Australia's Jazz Age and Keryn WalsheFarmers or Hunter-Gatherers? The Dark Emu Debate2023Unmaking Angas Downs: Myth and history on a Central Australian pastoral stationWinnerElizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth FarmFinalistJustice in Kelly Country: The story of the cop who hunted Australia’s most notorious bushrangersSaving the Reef: The human story behind one of Australia’s greatest environmental treasuresBlack Lives, White Law: Locked up and locked out in Australia2024Donald Horne: A Life in the Lucky CountryWinnerBee MilesFinalistBennelong and Phillip: A History UnravelledKilling for Country: A Family StoryCourting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law2025Critical Care: Nurses on the Frontline of Australia's AIDS Crisis WinnerThe Wild Reciter: Poetry and Popular Culture in Australia 1890 to the PresentFinalistAustralia in 100 Words & Craig CormickWarra Warra Wai Näku Dhäruk The Bark Petitions2026The Southern FrontierWinnerFearless Beatrice Faust: Sex, Feminism and Body PoliticsFinalistFirst Tasmanians: A Deep HistoryPlaytime: A History of Australian Childhood, Stephen Gapps, Mina Murray & Henry ReynoldsThe Australian Wars
Children's fiction