NSW Premier's Award

The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction.

The NSW Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities. If governments treat writers and artists with respect and understanding, the community will be more likely to do the same." They were the first set of premier's awards offered in Australia.

The awards were not presented in 1998.

The winners of most of the prizes and awards are decided by a judging panel, with no input from Create NSW (former Arts NSW) or the NSW Government. The names of each year's judges are not announced until the final winners are decided. The judging has been the subject of controversy in the past, when in 2010, the panel decided not to bestow the Play Award on any of the applicants.

In November 2011, the NSW Government announced a review of the Premier's Literary Awards for 2012. An independent panel, chaired by journalist Gerard Henderson, reviewed both the Literary and the Premier's History Awards, focussed on the governance, selection criteria and judging processes. Following the review, the Awards are managed by the State Library of NSW, in association with Create NSW.

The following prizes and awards are currently given in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.

The Christina Stead Prize is awarded for a work of fiction that may be either a novel or a collection of stories. The recipient currently receives a A$40,000 prize. It is named in honor of Christina Stead, an Australian novelist and short-story writer. The first recipient was David Malouf, who was awarded the Prize for his novella An Imaginary Life in 1979. The most recent recipient was Heather Rose who won the Prize for The Museum of Modern Love. Novelist Peter Carey, with three wins, has won the Prize more than any other author.

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