The winner of the prestigious $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature has been announced at Fed Square this evening.
The winner, Alexis Wright, has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life.
Four winners have also been announced in other prize categories.
This year marks 20 years of the annual Melbourne Prize.
The Prize was judged by three esteemed literary sector professionals.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which the Melbourne Prize Trust operates, the People of the Kulin Nation, and pay our respects to the elders, past, present and future.
Today, the winner of one of Australia’s most valuable and sought-after literary prizes has been announced, along with four other recipients across the valuable prize pool.
Supported by major patron, The Vera Moore Foundation, the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature 2024 is awarded to ALEXIS WRIGHT for her body of published work and an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life. Alexis Wright, a member of the Waanyi Nation of the Southern Highlands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is a world- renowned author of groundbreaking published works including four novels and several works of non-fiction. We acknowledge and congratulate the three finalists in the Prize, Patricia Cornelius, Garry Disher and Pi O. The Robert Salzer Foundation are the sole patron of The Writers Prize 2024 valued at $10,000, which has been awarded to CARRIE TIFFANY for her essay titled Seven snakes, which was selected for its outstanding originality, literary merit and creative freshness. The winning essay will be published in Meanjin 83.4 Summer 2024. We congratulate the finalists Judith Bishop, Marika Sosnowski, Jeff Sparrow and Beau Windon. The inaugural Falls Creek Writers Residencies 2024, supported by Falls Creek Alpine Resort and Readings, which includes two 3-week residencies at the resort and $1,000 for each recipient, has been won by ANGUS CERINI and CLAIRE THOMAS. Hardie Grant Books generously support the $1,500 Civic Choice Award 2024, which has been won by a finalist in The Writers Prize, JUDITH BISHOP, who received the highest number of public votes. |
Click here to see interviews with each of the nine finalists and click here for the Finalist Catalogue. All non-recipient finalists receive $1,000, supported by Fed Square. Thank you to our three esteemed judges Evelyn Araluen, Christos Tsiolkas and Michael Williams. Judge’s Statement: For twenty years now the annual Melbourne Prize has captured the scope and ambition of writerly achievement in this City of Literature. For the judges, assessing The Writers Prize and the Melbourne Prize for Literature side by side gives an opportunity to consider vital and urgent new writing in essay form, and then also the question of a lasting contribution and bodies of work by our literary greats. The field was very strong, and beyond the excellent shortlists, the range of entries were a pleasure to read and a reminder of the breadth and strength of writers working in this country today. Our thanks and respect to all entrants and those in the inaugural Falls Creek Writers Residencies. We were all very much impressed by the standard of essays submitted for The Writers Prize this year. There was real commitment to intellectual rigour and curiosity in the best essays, as well as a fearlessness and a desire to be creatively daring. It was wonderful to read such an invigorating collection. Equally, the impressive range of applications for the Melbourne Prize for Literature speaks to both the outstanding writers we have in this country and the integrity and reputation of the annual Melbourne Prize itself. For the three of us, it was an honour and a (sometimes daunting) pleasure to be part of this judging panel. |
Celebrating 20 years, the annual Melbourne Prize is an established part of our cultural landscape and continues to provide opportunities to Victorian writers, musicians and sculptors to develop our creative sector. The Melbourne Prize for Literature 2024 & Awards enhances Melbourne as a UNESCO City of Literature and a centre of opportunity for writers.
Newly appointed Trust Chairman, Clive Scott AM said, “Congratulations to this year’s winners and to the finalists and entrants, who have contributed to an overwhelming response in our 20th year”.
Melbourne Prize Trust Founder and Executive Director Simon Warrender said, “We could not have come this far without the generous support of our many partners and patrons – thank you one and all and to the local literary sector”.
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks said: “The Melbourne Prize for Literature is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the work of local writers and the contribution they make to our lives and to the fabric of our culture and society. Congratulations to this year’s winners and thank you to the Melbourne Prize Trust for continuing to back Victorian artists and stories.”
An exhibition of finalists will be available at Event Partner Fed Square from November 3rd to 14th, where visitors will be able to learn about the prize and finalists and cast a vote for a finalist to win the Civic Choice Award 2024.
