ACT Book of the Year Award

ACT Book of the Year Award
First award1993
WebsiteACT Book of the Year Award

The ACT Book of the Year Award is an annual prize of $10,000 awarded for a literary work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry written by an author from the Australian Capital Territory.[1] The award was inaugurated in 1993 with $5,000 prize money.[2] The Award showcases the talent and the excellence of local authors and is also intended to "inspire those who have an idea, a seed for a book to ‘pick up the pen’ and get writing".[3]

Winners and select shortlist

Year Author Title Publisher Result Ref.
1993 Marion Halligan Lovers' Knot Heinemann Joint winners[4]
A. D. Hope Chance Encounters Melbourne University Press
1994 John Foulcher New and Selected Poems Brandl & Schlesinger Winner[5]
1995 Sara Dowse Sapphires Penguin Group Winner[6]
1996 Paul Hetherington Shadow Swimmer Molonglo Press Winner
1997 Francesca Rendle-Short Imago Spinifex Press Winner
1998 Lee Chittick Travelling With Percy : A South Coast Journey Aboriginal Studies Press Winner
1999 Craig Cormick Unwritten Histories Aboriginal Studies Press Winner
2000 Adrian Caesar The White: Last days in the Antarctic Journeys of Scott and Mawson 1911-1913 Picador Winner
2001 Alan Gould The Schoonermaster's Dance Flamingo Joint Winners
Dorothy Johnston The Trojan Dog Wakefield Press
2002 Jackie French In the Blood Angus & Robertson Winner
2003 John Clanchy The Hard Word University of Queensland Press Winner
2004 Marion Halligan The Point Allen & Unwin Winner
2005 Tony Kevin A Certain Maritime Incident : the sinking of SIEV X Scribe Publications Winner
2006 John Clanchy Vincenzo's Garden University of Queensland Press Winner
2007 Quynh Du Thon That Sunday Menu : selected short stories of Pham Thi Hoai Pandanus Winner
2008 Tony Kevin Walking the Camino : A Modern Pilgrimage to Santiago Scribe Publications Winner
2009 Nicholas Drayson A Guide to the Birds of East Africa: A Novel [7] Viking Winner[8]
2010 Marion Halligan Valley of Grace Allen & Unwin Winner[9]
2011 Chris Hammer The River: A journey through the Murray-Darling Basin Melbourne University Press Winner[10]
2012 Bill Gammage The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia Allen & Unwin Winner[10]
2013 Frank Bongiorno The Sex Lives of Australians : A History Black Inc. Winner[11]
2014 Gordon Peake Beloved land: stories, Struggles and secrets from Timor-Leste Scribe Publications Winner[12]
2015 Mark Henshaw The Snow Kimono Text Publishing Winner[13]
2016 Frank Bongiorno The Eighties : the decade that transformed Australia Black Inc. Winner[14]
2017 Tom Griffiths The Art of Time Travel : Historians and their craft Black Inc. Winner[15]
2018 Paul Collis Dancing Home University of Queensland Press Winner[16]
2019 Robyn Cadwallader Book of Colours HarperCollins Winner[17]
2020 Lisa Fuller Ghost Bird University of Queensland Press Winner[18]
2021 Subhash Jaireth Spinoza's Overcoat: Travels with Writers and Poets Transit Lounge Winner[19]
2022 Lucy Neave Believe in Me University of Queensland Press Winner[20]
Merlinda Bobis The Kindness of Birds Highly Commended [21]
Dylan van den Berg Milk Highly Commended
Omar Musa Killernova Highly Commended
Tim Bonyhady Two Afternoons in the Kabul Stadium: A History of Afghanistan Through Clothes, Carpets and the Camera Shortlisted
Hugh Poate Failures of Command: The Death of Private Robert Poate Shortlisted
Kaya Wilson As Beautiful As Any Other: A Memoir of My Body Shortlisted
2023 Frank Bongiorno Dreamers and Schemers: A political history of Australia La Trobe University Press Winner [22]
Julieanne Lamond Lohrey Highly Commended [23]
Marion Halligan Words for Lucy Highly Commended
Niki Savva Bulldozed: Scott Morrison’s fall and Anthony Albanese’s rise Shortlisted
Katrina Marson Legitimate Sexpectations: the power of sex-ed Shortlisted
Robert Bowker Tomorrow There will be Apricots Shortlisted
2024 Chris Hammer The Seven Allen & Unwin Winner [24]
Ayesha Inoon Untethered[25] HarperCollins Australia Highly Commended [26]
J. Ashley-Smith The Measure of Sorrow: Stories[27] Meerkat Press (Atlanta, USA)
Paul Hetherington Sleeplessness[28] Pierian Springs Press Shortlisted
Mavis Kerinaiua and Laura Rademaker Tiwi Story: Turning history downside up[29] NewSouth Publishing
Jackie French The Great Gallipoli Escape[30] Angus & Robertson (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
2025 Darren Rix & Craig Cormick Warra Warra Wai [31] Simon & Schuster Australia Winner [32]
Theodore Ell Lebanon Days[33] Atlantic Books Australia; Allen & Unwin (digital) Highly Commended
Qin Qin Model Minority Gone Rogue[34] Hachette Australia Shortlisted [35]
Andra Putnis Stories My Grandmothers Didn’t Tell Me[36] Allen & Unwin Shortlisted

References

  1. ^ "Collis wins 2018 ACT Book of the Year for 'Dancing Home'". Books+Publishing. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  2. ^ Hefner, Bob (1 August 1993). "Writers will headline celebrations". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 26. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. ^ Media, Newstime (6 August 2024). "ACT Book of the Year 2024 winner announced". Canberra Daily. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  4. ^ Hefner, Robert (3 August 1993). "Hope, Halligan share first ACT annual book award". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 3. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. ^ Hefner, Robert (1 September 1994). "Literary award for political trilogy". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  6. ^ Hefner, Robert (19 July 1995). "Dowse books a place in history". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  7. ^ Drayson, Nicholas (2009). A guide to the birds of East Africa. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-103596-3. OCLC 276647634.
  8. ^ "ACT Book of the Year and Poetry Prize 2009 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  9. ^ "2010 ACT Book of the Year and Judith Wright Prize winners announced". Books+Publishing. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Gammage wins 2012 ACT Book of the Year Award". Books+Publishing. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  11. ^ "'The Sex Lives of Australians' named ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. ^ "'Beloved Land' wins ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Henshaw wins 2015 ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Bongiorno wins 2016 ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Griffiths wins 2017 ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Collis wins 2018 ACT Book of the Year for 'Dancing Home'". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Cadwallader wins 2019 ACT Book of the Year Award". Books+Publishing. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Fuller wins 2020 ACT Book of the Year for 'Ghost Bird'". Books+Publishing. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  19. ^ "ACT Book of the Year for 2021 revealed". ACT Government. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  20. ^ "ACT Book of the Year Award". artsACT. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  21. ^ ACT Government; PositionTitle=Director; SectionName=Corporate Management; Corporate=Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (24 April 2023). "Believe in Me named ACT Book of the Year 2022". Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Retrieved 27 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Bongiorno wins ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  23. ^ Treasury, ACT Government; PositionTitle=Director; SectionName=Corporate Management; Corporate=Chief Minister and (20 June 2024). "Dreamers and Schemers named ACT Book of the Year". Our Canberra. Retrieved 27 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Directorate, ACT Government; PositionTitle=Director; SectionName=artsACT; Corporate=Community Services (3 May 2025). "ACT Book of the Year Award". artsACT. Retrieved 21 June 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Inoon, Ayesha (2024). Untethered. Sydney: HQ Fiction (HarperCollins Australia). ISBN 9781867267065. HarperCollins Australia.
  26. ^ Treasury, ACT Government; PositionTitle=Director; SectionName=Corporate Management; Corporate=Chief Minister and (8 June 2024). "The Seven named ACT Book of the Year 2024". Our Canberra. Retrieved 11 September 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Ashley-Smith, J. (2022). The Measure of Sorrow: Stories. Atlanta: Meerkat Press. ISBN 9781957384138. AustLit.
  28. ^ Hetherington, Paul (2022). Sleeplessness. Pierian Springs Press. ISBN 9781953136625. Amazon Australia.
  29. ^ Kerinaiua, Mavis; Rademaker, Laura (2023). Tiwi Story: Turning History Downside Up. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. ISBN 9781742237943. UNSW Press.
  30. ^ French, Jackie (2019). The Great Gallipoli Escape. Sydney: Angus & Robertson (HarperCollins Children’s Books). ISBN 9781460753024. Children’s Book Council of Australia.
  31. ^ Warra Warra Wai. 4 September 2024. ISBN 978-1-76142-402-1.
  32. ^ "Rix, Cormick win ACT Book of the Year". Books+Publishing. 27 October 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  33. ^ "Lebanon Days - Theodore Ell". www.allenandunwin.com. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  34. ^ Qin, Qin (2024). Model minority gone rogue. Sydney, NSW: Hachette Australia. ISBN 978-0-7336-4984-4. OCLC 1423714592.
  35. ^ CityNews (7 September 2025). "Four authors in the running for ACT Book of the Year". Canberra CityNews. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  36. ^ Putnis, Andra (2024). Stories My Grandmothers Didn't Tell Me: Two Women's Journeys from War-Torn Europe to a New Life in Australia (1st ed.). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76147-132-2.
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