Prime Minister's Literary Awards facts for kids
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) are special prizes given to amazing Australian writers. These awards were first announced at the end of 2007. They were created by the government that came into power after the 2007 election, led by the Prime Minister. The awards are managed by the Minister for the Arts, who is a government official in charge of supporting art and culture.
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What Are the Prime Minister's Literary Awards?
The awards were started to celebrate how much Australian books and stories add to our country's culture and ideas. They happen every year. When they first began, they offered a big prize of A$100,000 (which is tax-free!) in each category. This made them the richest literary awards in Australia!
How the Prizes Work
In 2011, the prize money changed a little. The winner in each category now gets A$80,000. Also, up to four other writers who are chosen as finalists (called "short-listed entries") get A$5,000 each. This helps support more talented writers.
Award Categories for Writers
When the awards first started, there were four main categories:
- Fiction: For made-up stories, like novels.
- Non-fiction: For books based on facts, like biographies or history books.
- Young Adult: For books written for teenagers.
- Children's Fiction: For books written for younger kids.
In 2012, two new things happened:
- A new category for Poetry was added. Poetry is a special way of writing using rhythm and often rhyme.
- The Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History became part of these awards. This means history books now have their own special place within the Literary Awards.
Who Can Enter the Awards?
To enter the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, a book must be written by an Australian citizen or someone who lives permanently in Australia. Authors themselves, book publishers, and literary agents (people who help authors sell their books) can all submit books. The books must have been published in the year before the awards are given out.
