Queer Authors Top Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Nominations

Queer authors Will Kostakis and Gary Lonesborough have this week been recognised in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.

Both authors have been announced in the shortlist for the young adult literary category  in the 2024 awards.

They are now eligible for part of the $600,000 prize pool on offer for successful winners of the competition.

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2024

Queer authors Will Kostakis and Gary Lonesborough are being celebrated for their outstanding young adult fiction in this years awards.

Both authors have been shortlisted in the final five for the young adult literature category for their books We Could Be Something and We Didn’t Think It Through respectively.

Kostakis, a celebrated, award winning author, has written many queer young adult novels and has been previously been nominated for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. He was first published at just nineteen years old and is a powerful voice in queer young adult literature in Australia.

Will regularly tours schools speaking about his books and has spoken openly about his struggles with censorship in schools.

His latest work We Could Be Something follows a multi generational coming out and falling in love story that has already received plenty of attention. When selecting his work for the awards the judges commended the quality of his story telling.

“Kostakis has achieved a new level of excellence with this novel, capturing both characters with crisp, clear prose, layered with meaning and pathos.”

“Brimming with raw emotion and truth, We Could Be Something contains vivid descriptions of the Darlinghurst and Kings Cross area of Sydney, and of Greek-Australian culture, intergenerational living, and Australia’s LGBTQI evolving communities.”

Gary Lonesborough has received extensive national attention for his debut novel Boy From The Mish. The proud Yuin author who grew up in Bega, NSW delivered a heartwarming and personal story that captured hearts nationwide.

His follow up novel We Didn’t Think It Through follows a young aboriginal man Jamie Langton, dubbed a ‘danger to society’, who is struggling to find his way through adolescence. The judges recognised his touching and personal storytelling when announcing his nomination.

“Gary Lonesborough’s powerful second novel is a tense contemporary story focusing on the life of a Koori teenager who spends time in youth detention for stealing a car.”

“A mix of prose, stream of consciousness verse poetry, and childhood flashbacks, this novel tackles themes relevant to this nation since colonisation began: systemic racism in the justice system, the separation of First Nations families, and the healing power of poetry, music, forgiveness and love.”

Gary was also announced this week as a finalist in the ACON Honour Awards, Gary is shortlisted for the Media Award.

Recognising outstanding Australian work

The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, established in 2008, are Australia’s richest literary prizes, celebrating outstanding contributions to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life.

Initially recognising fiction and non-fiction, the awards have expanded to include categories for young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history.

With a tax-free prize pool of $600,000, the awards honour both established and emerging Australian writers, illustrators, poets, and historians.

Each category awards up to $100,000, with $80,000 for the winner and $5,000 each for up to four shortlisted entries.

The annual awards highlight works of high literary merit published in the previous calendar year, the 2024 award winners will be announced in September.