The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary prize with the top winner receiving A$125,000 and category winners A$25,000 each.
They were established in 1985 by John Cain, the Premier of Victoria at that time, to mark the centenary of the births of Vance and Nettie Palmer, two of Australia's best-known writers and critics who both made significant contributions to Victorian and Australian literary culture.
From 1986 through till 1997 they were presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival.
In 1997 the administration of the awards was transferred to the State Library of Victoria. By 2004 the award's total prize money was A$180,000.
In 2011 stewardship was taken over by the Wheeler Centre.
Beginning in 2011, the awards were restructured into 5 categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Drama and Young People's. The winner of each receives $25,000. Of those 5 winners, one is chosen as the overall winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature and receives an additional $100,000. Further, there are two other categories with different prize amounts: An honorary People's Choice Award voted on by readers. And a Unpublished Manuscript Award with a prize amount of $15,000.
Shortlists are maintained in the main article for each category.
2011 Kim Scott, That Deadman Dance2012 Bill Gammage, The Biggest Estate on Earth2013 Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 2013. Previous awards were based on year of publication.2014 Jennifer Maiden, Liquid Nitrogen2015 Alan Atkinson, The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation2016 Mary Anne Butler, Broken1985-2010 see Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction2011 Kim Scott, That Deadman Dance2012 Gillian Mears, Foal's Bread2013 No award2014 Alex Miller, Coal Creek2015 Rohan Wilson, To Name Those Lost2016 Mireille Juchau, The World Without Us1990-2010 see Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction2011 Mark McKenna, An Eye for Eternity: The Life Of Manning Clark2012 Bill Gammage, The Biggest Estate on Earth2013 No award2014 Henry Reynolds, Forgotten War2015 Alan Atkinson, The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation2016 Gerald Murnane, Something for the Pain1985-2010 see C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry2011 Cate Kennedy, The Taste of River Water2012 John Kinsella, Armour2013 No award2014 Jennifer Maiden, Liquid Nitrogen2015 Jill Jones, The Beautiful Anxiety2016 Alan Loney, Crankhandle1999-2010 see Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction2011 Cassandra Golds, The Three Loves of Persimmon2012 John Larkin, The Shadow Girl2013 No award2014 Barry Jonsberg, My Life as an Alphabet2015 Claire Zorn, The Protected2016 Marlee Jane Ward, Welcome to Orphancorp2010 earlier see Louis Esson Prize for Drama2011 Patricia Cornelius, Do not go gentle…2012 Lally Katz, A Golem Story2013 No award2014 Patricia Cornelius, Savages2015 Angus Cerini, Resplendence2016 Mary Anne Butler, Broken2011 Anna Krien, Into The Woods: The Battle for Tasmania's Forests2012 Aidan Fennessy, National Interest2013 Presented in January 2014 (see 2014 entry) for books published in 20132014 Hannah Kent, Burial Rites2015 Tim Low, Where Song Began2016 Miles Allinson, Fever of Animals2003-2010 see main article2011 No award2012 Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project2013 Maxine Beneba Clarke, Foreign Soil2014 Miles Allinson, Fever of Animals2015 Jane Harper, The DryFrom 1985 to 2010 prizes were offered in some or all of the below categories.
Vance Palmer Prize for FictionNettie Palmer Prize for Non-fictionPrize for Young Adult FictionC. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryLouis Esson Prize for DramaAlfred Deakin Prize for an Essay Advancing Public DebatePrize for Science Writing (biennial)Village Roadshow Prize for Screen WritingGrollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in AustraliaJohn Curtin Prize for JournalismPrize for Best Music Theatre ScriptPrize for Indigenous Writing (Biennial)Prize for a First Book of History (Biennial)Dinny O'Hearn Prize for Literary Translation. (Triennial)