40 Years of Literary Triumph

Since 1984, the NT Literary Awards have celebrated the unpublished works of Territorians, and this month, the 2024 winners are revealed.

^{By Jenna Kirkham}

WITH OVER 240 entries coming in hot across seven categories – essay, flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short story, theatre and youth – the awards are an annual highlight for not only aspiring authors, poets, journalists and writers but the award coordinators as well.

“The awards have been a highlight of the NT literary scene for 40 years, and Library & Archives NT are incredibly proud to have supported the rich talent of Territory writers since 2002,” says Library & Archives NT’s Senior Director, Tracy Puklowski.

As the NT Literary Awards celebrate 40 years this year, the panel of judges continue to have their work cut out for them, with 22 works shortlisted.

This year’s shortlisted entries include Clare Bizley’s creative non-fiction entry Jim Jim Falls (In and Out of Love), Fiona Dorrell’s poem Precious Thing, Dave Clark’s short story Make Some Noise, and Joe Abraham’s flash fiction entry, Sirens.

Abraham won the 2023 Kath Manzie Youth Award for AKAL – In the Shadows of the Slum. The year 12 student, after being encouraged by his teachers, took a shot at submitting his work and was surprised to have won.

“I didn’t expect to win – it was a great shock, and after that I think I’ve gotten a bit more confident in my writing skills. It was just really exciting and the whole process of going through writing a story was really nice,” he says.

“It’s good to see all the works published at the end of the ceremony in the book you get, and when you’re reading through all the great works done by everyone in the NT … it’s a really nice feeling.”

With 40 years of showcasing incredible local talent, the NT Literary Awards continue to be a great opportunity for writers to celebrate their achievements with friends and family, and a boost of encouragement for aspiring storytellers. Winners are announced at the awards ceremony at Northern Territory Library in Parliament House, which is live streamed to Red Kangaroo Books in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

NT Literary Awards 
WHEN WED 4 SEP | 5.30PM
AT NORTHERN TERRITORY LIBRARY 
COST FREE | REGISTER ONLINE
INFO lant.nt.gov.au

^{Header, Thumbnail & Inset: 2023 NT Literary Awards Winners}