2010 NSW Premier's Literary Award Winners

By Perry Middlemiss on May 18, 2010 1:36 PM

The winners of the 2010 NSW Premier's Literary Awards have been announced.

The winners were:

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
J.M. Coetzee, Summertime Random House Australia (Knopf)

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
Paul McGeough, Kill Khalid: Mossad's Failed Hit ... And the Rise of Hamas Allen & Unwin

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
Jordie Albiston, the sonnet according to 'm' John Leonard Press

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature
Pamela Rushby, When the Hipchicks Went to War Hachette Australia

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature
Allan Baillie, Krakatoa Lighthouse Penguin Group (Australia)

Community Relations Commission Award
Abbas El-Zein, Leave to Remain: A Memoir University of Queensland Press

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing for Fiction
Andrew Croome, Document Z Allen & Unwin

Script Writing Award
Jane Campion, Bright Star Jan Chapman Films
Aviva Ziegler & Veronica Fury, Fairweather Man Fury Productions

Play Award
This category did not have a shortlist. This year a grant of $30,000 will be made
available to support professional development opportunities for new playwrights in New
South Wales in 2011.

NSW Premier's Prize for Literary Scholarship
Philip Mead, Networked Language: Culture and History in Australian Poetry Australian Scholarly Publishing

The People's Choice Award
Cate Kennedy, The World Beneath Scribe Publications

Book of the Year
Paul McGeough, Kill Khalid: Mossad's Failed Hit ... And the Rise of Hamas Allen & Unwin

Special Award
The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature

You can read the full shortlists here.

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
The second book in the "First Law" series. Epic fantasy written to honour the honour and explore the standard fantasy tropes, as well as to poke more than a little fun at them at the same time. A big book, but still a page-turner.

How it Feels by Brendan Cowell
A debut novel from a multi-talented author/actor/director. A coming-of-age novel which might well be semi-autobiographical.

Monster Blood Tattoo: Factotum by D. M. Cornish
The third book in the MBT series. Will we finally find out who Rossamund really is? And will we be sad to leave this fully-realised fantasy world? I suspect the answer will be "yes" to both.

Rendezvous at Kamakura Inn by Marshall Browne
Browne's first novel in a new series, this time featuring a Japanese detective, Inspector Aoki. This novel finds the inspector investigating an old murder in a snowed-in remote Japanese retreat.

The City & The City by China Miéville
Miéville's Hugo Award winning novel of two cities inhabiting the same physical location. A murder mystery with hints of classic sf/fantasy memes, from Dick to Borges, but in a European setting.
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
The 13th Jack Reacher novel. Suicide bombers on the New York subway and international terrorism mixed with hard-boiled action makes for an interesting brew.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Heroic fantasy in the modern style. A fantasy that is laced through with noirish elements, and excellent characterisations. First book of The First Law trilogy.
Where Have You Been? by Wendy James
What happens when a sister returns after being missing, presumed dead, for twenty years? James enhances her reputation as one of Australia's rising literary novelists.
Wyatt by Garry Disher
Disher's anti-hero is back after an absence of ten years with a gritty, fast, noirish struggle for survival. All the best aspects of Disher's work are on display here.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
A Young Adult steampunk novel set at the start of an alternate history First World War. Fast-paced, intriguing and totally captivating.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Dick's novel of the near future when the difference between human and android is barely discernible. One of the great all-time sf titles.

American Journeys by Don Watson
Watson journeys into the heart of America, by train and car. There he discovers the best, and the worst, of humanity and society.

Ghostlines by Nick Gadd
2009 Best First Novel at the Ned Kelly Awards. Murder in the art world involving political intrigue and business corruption in Melbourne.