Congratulations to Alison Whittaker, Charmaine Papertalk Green & John Kinsella, and Bruce Pascoe!

Blakwork, False Claims of Colonial Thieves and Young Dark Emu have all been shortlisted for the 2020 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. 

The Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, among Australia’s richest and most prestigious literary awards, are presented annually during the Adelaide Festival by the State Library of South Australia.

Blakwork by Alison Whittaker and False Claims of Colonial Thieves by Charmaine Papertalk Green and Kinsella, are both shortlisted for the John Bray Poetry Award, alongside Natalie Harkin, Omar Sakr, Jill Jones and Andy Jackson.

Young Dark Emu: A truer history by Bruce Pascoe, continuing its wide acclaim, is shortlisted for the Children's Literature Award. 

“I congratulate all the shortlisted authors and their publishers. It’s a great achievement to be shortlisted as we received almost 800 entries across all award categories making it highly competitive.”

“These awards are all about the power of the written word – its ability to evoke emotions, stimulate thoughts and discussion. In this way the awards strengthen the importance of a publishing and literary culture in our community.” - Geoff Strempel, Director State Library of South Australia. 

Winners will be announced in a ceremony at Adelaide Writers’ Week on Saturday, 29 February 2020 as part of the Adelaide Festival.