The longlists for the 2015 Premier’s Literary Prizes for published works have been announced.
“The list of high calibre authors shows that literary talent is flourishing in Tasmania, and that Tasmania is a source of inspiration for writers around Australia,” Premier Will Hodgman said.
“The quality of the nominated works reinforces Tasmania’s reputation as a cultural and artistic hub.”
Minister for the Arts Vanessa Goodwin said the Premier’s Literary Prizes are unique in Australia in that such a diverse range of books can be in contention.
“The longlisted titles include a picture book, historical fiction and non-fiction, memoir, poetry, young-adult fiction and literary fiction,” Dr Goodwin said.
The longlists were determined by Judges Hamish Maxwell-Stewart (chair), Matthew Lamb and Lian Tanner, who were struck with the diversity and strength of the submissions for both the Tasmania Book Prize and the Margaret Scott Prize.
Premier’s Literary Prizes longlists:
Tasmania Book Prize – best book with Tasmanian content in any genre. This $25,000 award recognises the influence Tasmania has had on content or perspective and is sponsored by the Tasmanian Government.
Margaret Scott Prize – best book by a Tasmanian writer. This $5,000 award is sponsored by the University of Tasmania.
The shortlists in all the Premier’s Literary Prizes categories, including the University of Tasmania Prize for an unpublished literary work and the Tasmanian Young Writer’s Fellowship, will be announced at the opening of the Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival in Hobart on Friday, 11 September 2015.
For more information on the Premier’s Literary Prizes visit www.arts.tas.gov.au/plp