The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2026
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards (VPLAs) were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. Administered by The Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Premier of Victoria, the VPLAs are one of Australia’s most prestigious and lucrative literary prize suites – championing excellence across Fiction, Non-Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Indigenous Writing, Humour Writing, Children’s Literature and Writing for Young Adults.
For this year’s Awards the Writing for Young Adults category has been renamed The John Marsden Prize for Writing for Young Adults as a special tribute to the beloved author.
Entries were sought for the following categories for 2026, within the eligible publishing period indicated:
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for young adults, children’s literature, Indigenous writing – Books published between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 are eligible for these awards.
Drama – Theatre and musical theatre scripts first produced in Australia by a professional theatre company for an audience between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 are eligible for this award.
The winners of each Prize receive $25,000, and will go on to contest the major prize, the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature.