Seeking Tasmania's next literary giant

Entries are now open for the Tasmanian Literary Awards 2025. 

Minister for the Arts, Madeleine Ogilvie, said the awards celebrate excellence in the Tasmanian literary sector. 

“The Tasmanian Government is a strong supporter of Tasmania’s vibrant cultural and creative industries, including our strong literary sector, and an important part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future is about developing stronger communities and creative sector opportunities,” said Minister Ogilvie. 

“The Tasmanian Literary Awards raises the profile of Tasmanian authors and foster and support our emerging literary talent; they also recognise the work of emerging and young writers and provide a mechanism to acknowledge and nurture new voices.

“To highlight the many wonderful books written in Tasmania each year, the awards are open to writers living in Tasmania. The 2025 awards will include seven categories for both established and emerging writers, with the prize money totalling $125,000.

“The awards include The Aboriginal Writer’s Fellowship, open to all published and unpublished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers living in Tasmania.

“For the second time, the awards will include a specific prize for poetry, and a prize for books for young readers and children.”

This year’s categories are:

• Premier’s Prize for Fiction ($25,000) – for the best work of fiction by a Tasmanian writer (including short stories).
• Premier’s Prize for Non-fiction ($25,000) – for the best work of non-fiction by a Tasmanian writer.
• Minister for the Arts’ Prize for Books for Young Readers and Children ($25,000) – for a published work written for children and young adults in any genre.
• Tim Thorne Prize for Poetry ($25,000) – for a published book of poetry by a Tasmanian writer.
• University of Tasmania Prize ($10,000) – for the best new unpublished literary work by a Tasmanian writer, supported by the University of Tasmania.
• Aboriginal Writer’s Fellowship ($10,000) – awarded to a First Nations writer.
• Margaret Scott Tasmanian Young Writer’s Fellowship ($5,000) – awarded to a young Tasmanian writer (aged 30 years and under).

This year’s awards will also offer People’s Choice Awards.

Entries close on Monday, 30 September 2024, with the winners to be announced in March 2025. For full entry details of the 2025 prizes, visit www.arts.tas.gov.au/tasliteraryawards