The Victorian Premier's Prize for Indigenous Writing is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. The award commenced in 2004 [1] and in 2012 the prize was valued at A$20,000. [2] The winner of this category prize competes with the other category winners for overall Victorian Prize for Literature valued at an additional A$100,000. Nominees are allowed to enter other categories of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. [3]
In 2004 Vivienne Cleven was the inaugural winner. [1] The prize value was increased to A$25,000 in 2016. [4]
Winners of the Overall Victorian Prize for Literature have a blue ribbon ( ).
Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Vivienne Cleven | Her Sister's Eye | Winner | |
Larissa Behrendt | Home | Finalist | ||
Dennis McDermott | Dorothy's Skin | Finalist | ||
2006 | Tara June Winch | Swallow the Air | Winner | |
Fabienne Bayet | Watershed | Finalist | ||
Jared Thomas | Sweet Guy | Finalist | ||
Noel C. Tovey | Little Black Bastard: A Story of Survival | Finalist | ||
2008 | Yvette Holt | Anonymous Premonition | Winner | |
Gayle Kennedy | Me, Antman and Fleabag | Finalist | ||
John Maynard | Fight for Liberty and Freedom: The Origins of Australian Aboriginal Activism | Finalist | ||
2010 | Larissa Behrendt | Legacy | Winner | [5] |
Kate Howarth | Ten Hail Marys: A Memoir | Finalist | ||
Lorraine McGee-Sippel | Hey Mum, What's a Half-Caste? | Finalist | ||
2012 | Anita Heiss | Am I Black Enough For You? | Winner | [6] [7] |
Jeanine Leane | Purple Threads | Finalist | [8] | |
Nicole Watson | The Boundary | Finalist | [8] | |
2014 | Melissa Lucashenko | Mullumbimby | Winner | [2] |
Tony Birch | The Promise | Finalist | ||
Lionel Fogarty | Mogwie-Idan: Stories of the Land | Finalist | ||
Bruce Pascoe | Dark Emu | Finalist | ||
Jared Thomas | Calypso Summer | Finalist | ||
Alexis Wright | The Swan Book | Finalist | ||
2016 | Tony Birch | Ghost River | Winner | [4] [9] [10] |
Ali Cobby Eckermann | Inside My Mother | Finalist | [11] | |
Ellen van Neerven | Heat and Light | Finalist | [11] | |
2019 | Kim Scott | Taboo | Winner | [12] |
Tony Birch | Common People | Finalist | [13] | |
Melissa Lucashenko | Too Much Lip | Finalist | [13] | |
Alison Whittaker | Blakwork | Finalist | [13] | |
2021 | Archie Roach | Tell Me Why: The story of my life and my music | Winner | [14] |
Kirli Saunders | Kindred | Finalist | [15] [16] | |
Nardi Simpson | Song of the Crocodile | Finalist | [15] [16] | |
Karen Wyld | Where the Fruit Falls | Finalist | [15] [16] | |
2022 | ![]() | Black and Blue: A memoir of racism and resilience | Winner | [17] [18] |
Evelyn Araluen | Dropbear | Finalist | [19] | |
Gary Lonesborough | The Boy from the Mish | Finalist | [19] | |
S. J. Norman | Permafrost | Finalist | [19] | |
Elfie Shiosaki | Homecoming | Finalist | [19] | |
Chelsea Watego | Another Day in the Colony | Finalist | [19] | |
2023 | Lystra Rose | The Upwelling | Winner | [20] [21] [22] |
Lionel Fogarty | Harvest Lingo | Finalist | [23] [24] [25] | |
Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli | Astronomy | Finalist | [23] [24] [25] | |
Amy Thunig | Tell Me Again | Finalist | [23] [24] [25] | |
2024 | Daniel Browning | Close to the Subject: Selected works | Finalist | [26] |
John Morrissey | Firelight | Finalist | [26] | |
Ellen van Neerven | Personal Score: Sport, culture, identity | Finalist | [26] | |
2025 | Amy McQuire | Black Witness | Winner | [27] |
Kirli Saunders | Afloat | Finalist | [28] | |
Gary Lonesborough | I'm Not Really Here | Finalist | [28] | |
Elfie Shiosaki | Refugia | Finalist | [28] |