2026 Winners
The Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) celebrate established and emerging writers from around Australia and across a range of genres. Brisbane Writers Festival is proud to manage the awards in collaboration with sponsors, the literary community and industry partners.
Our warmest congratulations to all this year’s shortlisted authors and publishers.
#Queensland Premier's Award for Work of State Significance
WINNER
The Pearl of Tagai Town
Lenora Thaker
Text Publishing
Judges’ Comments:
The Pearl of Tagai Town is unambiguously and distinctively Queensland. Its vivid sense of place makes the work both accessible and deeply enjoyable. Lenora Thaker’s tale of love, family and friendship is confident and assured. Themes of identity, belonging and self-determination reflect research, respect and care. Warm, richly drawn characters and an innovative integration of Ailan languages come together in a rich, cohesive whole, bringing new insight and fresh imaginative life to a Far North Queensland community. The Pearl of Tagai Town is a stunning debut novel.
#Non-Fiction Book Award
WINNER
Find Me at the Jaffa Gate
Micaela Sahhar
NewSouth Publishing
Judges’ Comments:
Micaela Sahhar’s meditation on identity and family is a work that resonates both for its poetry and its beauty. An account that gently insists on the persistence of belonging, it becomes a profound mediation on origins, ancestry and history.
#Fiction Book Award
WINNER
On Not Climbing Mountains
Claire Thomas
Hachette Australia
Judges’ Comments:
While a meditation on grief, this novel always stimulates intellectually – and engages the senses and emotions in multifarious ways. The writing is crafted and polished to the highest degree. On Not Climbing Mountains is a contemplative yet inspiring inverse character study. It is a highly literary and cerebral work.
#Young Adult Book Award
WINNER
The Belly of a Wolf
Julianne Negri
UWA Publishing
Judges’ Comments:
Immersive and evocative, this coming-of-age verse novel follows fifteen-year-old Red as she navigates the sudden death of her best friend, Wolf. Negri masterfully weaves a classic fairy tale, high school heartbreak and indie rock into an unforgettable and extraordinary work of literature.
#Children's Book Award
WINNER
Once I Was a Giant
Zeno Sworder
Thames and Hudson Australia
Judges’ Comments:
Once I was a Giant stood out to the judges as an astonishing work of children’s literature. Innovative, imaginative and evocative, this book is a work of art and testament to the author’s incredible skill and world-making ability. An incredible story that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
#Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection
WINNER
KONTRA
Eunice Andrada
Giramondo Publishing
Judges’ Comments:
A book of exceptional formal ambition and imaginative force, KONTRA enlarges the possibilities of the contemporary lyric. Through its deft interplay of lyric, persona and documentary fragments, the collection moves between the personal and the historical, the mythical and the contemporary, blurring the boundaries between them while sustaining a rare urgency throughout. These are poems of haunting and transformation, alive to the violence and love we carry with us. Andrada’s formal inventiveness arises naturally from the emotional and intellectual pressures of her work. Conceptually sophisticated and emotionally immediate, KONTRA is a work of astonishing clarity and enduring resonance.
#Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection (Biennial Award)
WINNER
Mother Salad
Helena Pantsis
UWA Publishing
Judges’ Comments:
From the opening story, ‘Cottonmouth’, Mother Salad stands out as a masterful collection, skilfully deploying its surreal elements while also revealing the rich inner worlds of its characters. Helena Pantsis is a remarkable talent with an excellent command of narrative voice and a brilliant imagination.
#The Lord Mayor's People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award
WINNER
In a Common Hour
Sita Walker
Ultimo Press
#Development Awards
David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer
WINNER
When the Circle Speaks
Lukas Williams
Judges’ Comments:
‘When the Circle Speaks’ is an accomplished and highly accessible manuscript written with clarity, cultural wisdom and compassion. Part memoir and part practical guide to healing, it offers an innovative exploration of intergenerational trauma, recovery and restoration. With lasting impact, and grounded in the enduring power of story, connection and education, this work offers readers a hopeful vision of healing that extends across individuals, communities and future generations.
Manuscript Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer
WINNER
The Passion Hunters
Helen Crampton
Judges’ Comments:
Through richly drawn characters, ‘The Passion Hunters’ examines how friendships and family ties are tested by changing values and difficult choices. Beautifully written and emotionally resonant, it offers a compelling reflection on nature, loyalty, and the bonds that shape us.
Queensland Premier's Young Publisher and Writer Award
WINNER
Svetlana Sterlin
Judges’ Comments:
Svetlana is an accomplished, agile and innovative storyteller as a poet, fiction writer, screenwriter, and founding publisher of swim meet lit mag. She has a strong, discerning voice which is reflected in her, already extensive, literary achievements. Svetlana’s work, and obvious love of language, both reflects the diversity of cultural experiences which help define Queensland as a place while offering tantalising glimpses of life as it’s uniquely lived.
Queensland Premier's Regional Publisher and Writer Award
WINNER
Abi Stephenson
Judges’ Comments:
Abi is an assured, eloquent writer. Her depth of observation, thoughtfulness, curiosity and creativity invites the reader to read on, understand and care about words, writing and the unique place writers hold in revealing truths. Her voice is frank and curious, providing a tangibly honest aesthetic cohesion across her significant and growing body of work.
#Queensland Writers Fellowships
WINNERS
Charlotte Barkla
Gavin Yuan Gao
Melanie Myers