Victorian Premier's Prize for Drama

The Victorian Premier's Prize for Drama is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. The winner of this category prize vies with four other category winners (fiction; non-fiction; poetry; young adult literature) for overall Victorian Prize for Literature.

Until 2012, the award was called the Louis Esson Prize for Drama.

Victorian Premier's Prize for Drama

Winners of the Overall Victorian Prize for Literature have a blue ribbon ( ).

Victorian Premier's Prize for Drama winners and finalists

Year	Author	Title	Result	Ref.
2012	Lally Katz	A Golem Story	Winner	[1] [2]
	Aidan Fennessy	National	Finalist	[1] [3]
	Daniel Keene	Boxman	Finalist	[1] [3]
2014 [a]	Patricia Cornelius	Savages	Winner	[4]
	Kate Grenville	The Secret River	Finalist	[5] [6]
	Anne-Louise Sarks and Kate Mulvany	Medea	Finalist	[5] [6]
2015	Angus Cerini	Resplendence	Winner	[7] [8]
	Alison Croggon	Mayakovsky	Finalist	[7] [9] [10]
	Daniel Keene	The Long Way Home	Finalist	[7] [9] [10]
2016	Mary Anne Butler	Broken	Winner	[11] [12]
	Angela Betzien	Mortido	Finalist	[13]
	Patricia Cornelius	SHIT	Finalist	[13]
	Declan Greene	I am a Miracle	Highly commended	[13]
2017	Leah Purcell	The Drover's Wife	Winner	[14]
	Gita Bezard	Girl Shut Your Mouth	Finalist	[15]
	Zoë Coombs Marr	Trigger Warning	Finalist	[15]
2018	Michele Lee	Rice	Winner	[16] [17]
	Nakkiah Lui	Black is the New White	Finalist	[18] [19]
	Kate Mulvany	The Rasputin Affair	Finalist	[18] [19]
2019	Kendall Feaver	The Almighty Sometimes	Winner	[20] [21]
	Michele Lee	Going Down	Finalist	[22]
	Ursula Yovich and Alana Valentine	Barbara and the Camp Dogs	Finalist	[22]
2020	S. Shakthidharan (and associated writer Eamon Flack)	Counting and Cracking	Winner	[23] [24] [25]
	Samah Sabawi	Them	Finalist	[26]
	Meyne Wyatt	City of Gold	Finalist	[26]
2021	Angus Cerini	Wonnangatta	Winner	[27]
	Dan Giovannoni	SLAP. BANG. KISS.	Finalist	[28] [29]
	Andrea James	Sunshine Super Girl: The Evonne Goolagong Story	Finalist	[28] [29]
	Kendall Feaver	Wherever She Wanders	Highly Commend	[28] [29]
	Benjamin Law	Torch the Place	Highly Commend	[28] [29]
2022	Dylan Van Den Berg	Milk	Winner	[30] [31]
	Steve Perie	Return to the Dirt	Finalist	[32]
	Melissa Reeves	Archimedes War	Finalist	[33]
	Andrea James & Catherine Ryan	Dogged	Highly commend	[34]
2023	John Harvey	The Return	Winner	[35] [36] [37]
	Merlynn Tong	Golden Blood	Finalist	[38] [39]
	Dylan Van Den Berg	Whitefella Yella Tree	Finalist	[38] [39]
2024	Declan Furber Gillick	Jacky	Finalist	[40]
	S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack	The Jungle and the Sea	Finalist	[40]
	Christos Tsiolkas and Dan Giovannoni	Loaded	Finalist	[40]
2025	Nathan Maynard	37	Winner	[41]
	Emily Sheehan	Frame Narrative	Finalist	[42]
	Angus Cerini	Into the Shimmering World	Finalist	[42]

Louis Esson Prize for Drama

Louis Esson Prize for Drama winners and finalists

Year	Author	Title	Result	Ref.
1985	David Allen	Cheapside	Winner	[43]
1986	Janis Balodis	Too Young for Ghosts	Winner	[44]
1987	Ben Lewin	A Matter of Convenience	Winner	[45]
1988	Alma De Groen	The Rivers of China	Winner	[46]
1989	Daniel Keene	Silent Partner	Winner	[47]
1990	Sam Sejavka	The Hive	Winner	[48]
1991	Katherine Thomson	Diving for Pearls	Winner	[49]
1992	Jocelyn Moorhouse	Proof	Winner	[50]
1993	Michael Gurr	Sex Diary of an Infidel	Winner	[51]
1994	Louis Nowra	The Temple	Winner	[52]
1995	Barry Dickins	Remembering Ronald Ryan	Winner	[53]
1996	Joanna Murray-Smith	Honour	Winner	[54]
1997	Michael Gurr	Jerusalem	Winner	[55]
1998	Daniel Keene	Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Day	Winner	[56]
1999	Catherine Zimdahl	Clark in Sarajevo	Winner	[57]
2000	Hannie Rayson	Life After George	Winner	[58]
2001	Peta Murray	Salt	Winner	[59]
2002	Andrew Bovell	Holy Day	Winner	[60]
2003	Joanna Murray-Smith	Rapture	Winner	[61]
2004	Stephen Sewell	Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America	Winner	[62]
2005	Melissa Reeves	The Spook	Winner	[63]
2006	Stephen Sewell	Three Furies: Scenes from the Life of Francis Bacon	Winner	[64]
2007	Jane Bodie	A Single Act	Winner	[65]
	Kit Lazaroo	Asylum	Finalist	[66]
	Stephen Sewell	It Just Stopped	Finalist	[66]
2008	Andrew Bovell	When the Rain Stops Falling	Winner	[67] [68]
	Wesley Enoch	The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table	Finalist	[68]
	Michael Gow	Toy Symphony	Finalist	[68]
2009	Lally Katz	Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd	Winner	[69]
	Paul Galloway	Realism	Finalist	[70]
	Damien Millar	The Modern International Dead	Finalist	[70]
2010	Tom Holloway	And No More Shall We Part	Winner	[71]
	Declan Greene	Moth	Finalist	[72]
	Melissa Reeves	Furious Mattress	Finalist	[72]
2011	Patricia Cornelius	Do not go gentle…	Winner	[73]
	Jane Montgomery Griffiths	Sappho…in 9 fragments	Finalist	[73]
	Raimondo Cortese	Intimacy	Finalist	[73]

Notes

1. Prior to 2014, the award year was directly related to the year of publication. In 2014, the award year referred to books published in the previous year. That is, in 2012, the award went to books published in 2012. In 2014, the award went to books published in 2013.

References

1. "21 big names. One big decision. Start reading". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards . 2012. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
2. "2012 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards winners announced; 'The Biggest Estate on Earth' wins Victorian Prize for Literature". Books+Publishing . 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
3. "2012 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 9 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
4. "2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards winners announced; 'Liquid Nitrogen' wins Victorian Prize for Literature". Books+Publishing . 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
5. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2014". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards . 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
6. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2014 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
7. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards . 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
8. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015 winners announced; 'The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation' wins Victorian Prize for Literature". Books+Publishing . 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
9. Puvanenthiran, Bhakthi (2014-12-11). "Diverse 2015 Victorian Premiers Literary Award Shortlist features itinerant novelist Ceridwan Dovey". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
10. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
11. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016". The Wheeler Centre . Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
12. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016 winners announced". Books+Publishing . 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
13. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
14. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017". The Wheeler Centre . Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
15. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
16. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
17. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018 winners announced". Books+Publishing . 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
18. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018". The Wheeler Centre . Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
19. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
20. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019". The Wheeler Centre . Archived from the original on 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
21. "VPLAs 2019: Manus detainee Boochani wins $100k top prize". Books+Publishing . 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
22. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
23. Delaney, Brigid (2020-01-30). "Counting and Cracking: Belvoir Street's standout hit wins Australia's richest literary prize". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
24. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2020". The Wheeler Centre . Archived from the original on 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
25. "Winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2020". Readings Books. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
26. "2020 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 2019-12-02. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
27. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2021". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
28. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 2020-12-08. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
29. "The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists 2021". Readings Books. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
30. "Gorrie wins 2022 Victorian Prize for Literature". Books+Publishing . 2022-02-04. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
31. "Winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2022". Readings Books. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
32. "VPLAs 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
33. "VPLAs 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
34. "VPLAs 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing . 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
35. "The 2023 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
36. "Winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2023". Readings Books. 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
37. Burke, Kelly (2023-02-02). "Melbourne author Jessica Au wins $125,000 for 'quietly powerful' novella". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-02-12. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
38. "The 2023 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
39. "PMLAs 2022 winners, 2023 Indie Book Awards longlists, VPLAs shortlists". Books+Publishing . Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
40. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
41. Story, Hannah (2025-03-19). "Growing up, Wanda got old dresses for Xmas. Her book about it just won $125k". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
42. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2025 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2025-01-29. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
43. "Dobson shares poetry award". The Canberra Times . Vol. 59, no. 18, 223. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 August 1985. p. 27. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2017– via National Library of Australia.
44. "Wednesday Magazine". The Canberra Times . Vol. 61, no. 18, 634. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 October 1986. p. 18. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2017– via National Library of Australia.
45. "Wednesday magazine". The Canberra Times . Vol. 62, no. 18, 975. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 September 1987. p. 26. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2017– via National Library of Australia.
46. "Season of gifts". The Age Monthly Review, 1 September 1988, p2. ProQuest   2521064438 . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
47. "The lucky seven out of 249". Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 1989, p10. ProQuest   2526496753 . Retrieved 26 April 2024.
48. "dren's book music to the ears of parents". The Canberra Times . Vol. 65, no. 20, 246. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 September 1990. p. 28. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2017– via National Library of Australia.
49. "Case of crime paying dividends". The Age, 12 September 1991, p15. ProQuest   2521549387 . Retrieved 27 April 2024.
50. "Castro wins two writers' awards". The Sunday Age, 13 September 1992, p4. ProQuest   2521681420 . Retrieved 27 April 2024.
51. "Winning author hauls in a bounty". The Age, 13 September 1992, p6. ProQuest   2521903833 . Retrieved 27 April 2024.
52. "Celebration of kids' books". The Canberra Times . Vol. 70, no. 21, 731. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 October 1994. p. 24. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2017– via National Library of Australia.
53. "IN BRIEF". The Canberra Times . Vol. 71, no. 22, 101. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 October 1995. p. 6. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2017– via National Library of Australia.
54. ""Motherhood, love and food dazzle judges"". Sydney Morning Herald, 19 October 1996, p8. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
55. ""'Drowner' awarded top prize "". The Age 18 October 1997, p14. ProQuest   2521622477 . Retrieved 16 October 2024.
56. "Flanagan wins for Clapping". The Age. 17 October 1998. p. 18.
57. Steger, Jason (16 October 1999). "Literary prizes sail under the bridge". The Age. p. 7.
58. ""Victorian Literary Honours Awarded To Canberra Writers"". The Canberra Times, 7 October 2000, p6. ProQuest   1012368318 . Retrieved 15 January 2025.
59. ""Joining the circles"". The Age, 20 October 2001, p7. ProQuest   363451702 . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
60. ""Book of Fish lands a premier catch"". The Age, 12 November 2002, p7. ProQuest   363612212 . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
61. ""The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction: Winner 2003"". State Library of Victoria. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
62. "Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction - 2004 Winner". Archived from the original on 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
63. "Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction - 2005 Winner". Archived from the original on 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
64. "Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction - 2006 Winner". Archived from the original on 2008-08-11. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
65. "Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction - 2007 Winner". Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
66. ""2007 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Shortlists", Matilda". Archived from the original on 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
67. "Garner wins Vic Premier's literary prize". ABC News. 2008-09-01. Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
68. ""Victorian Premier's Literary Awards", Literary Festivals". Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
69. "Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction - 2009 Winner". Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
70. ""Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2009 shortlists announced", Readings". Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
71. ""Temple dreams of trifecta"". The Age, 29 September 2010. ProQuest   755123483 . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
72. ""Shortlists announced for the Victorian Premier's Literary Prize 2010", Readings". Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
73. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2011". Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. 2011. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2014.