Entries have opened for the Tasmanian Literary Awards 2027, with $150,000 in prize money on offer across eight categories celebrating the state’s writers and storytellers.
Previous winners include some of Tasmania’s most internationally recognised literary figures like Richard Flanagan, Heather Rose, Amanda Lohrey and Robbie Arnott.
Tasmanian Arts Minister Roger Jaensch said the awards recognised outstanding work across the state’s literary community.
“Tasmania has a proud literary tradition and these awards continue to raise the profile of our authors and celebrate the strength of our state’s writing community,” Jaensch said.
“The awards showcase outstanding writing across a range of genres while helping emerging and young writers build their careers and develop their craft.”
“Whether you’ve published a book, written for stage or screen or are preparing your first major work, I encourage you to consider entering.”
The awards cover fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s books, stage and screen writing and fellowships for emerging, young and First Nations writers.
Each of the five main prizes carries $25,000, while the University of Tasmania Prize for emerging writers is worth $10,000, the Aboriginal Writer’s Fellowship $10,000 and the Margaret Scott Young Writer’s Fellowship $5,000.
A new addition this year is the Roger Scholes Prize for Writing for Stage or Screen, named in memory of the Tasmanian filmmaker who died in 2022.
Scholes was an independent filmmaker whose career spanned more than four decades.
His feature film The Tale of Ruby Rose, shot in the remote Walls of Jerusalem and released in 1987, earned four critics’ prizes at the Venice Film Festival.
He founded Edward Street Films with his wife Katherine Scholes in 1988, producing documentaries rooted in Tasmanian themes.
Katherine Scholes said her husband was a passionate storyteller.
“All of his films, whether drama or documentary, were founded on the art of writing. It was a skill he valued highly and worked hard to perfect,” she said.
“He was also an inspiring teacher and mentor, keen to support other artists in their own quests. I know he would have felt deeply honoured by this prize and excited about the encouragement and opportunities it will offer recipients for many years to come.”
Entries for all prizes close on August 17 and entries for the fellowships close on September 7.
People’s Choice Awards voting will open once shortlists are announced in March 2027, with winners to be announced mid-2027.
