Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction


The Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, formerly known as the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. As of 2011 it has an remuneration of 25,000. The winner of this category prize vies with 4 other category winners for overall Victorian Prize for Literature valued at an additional 100,000.
The prize was formerly known as the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction from inception until 2010, when the awards were re-established under the stewardship of the Wheeler Centre and restarted with new prize amounts and a new name. The Palmer Prize was valued at 30,000 in 2010. The award was named after Vance Palmer, a leading literary critic. Palmer wrote reviews and presented a program called Current Books Worth Reading on ABC Radio. He also wrote books about Australian cultural life, including National Portraits ''A.G. Stephens: His Life and Work, Frank Wilmot, Old Australian bush ballads and The Legend of the Nineties''. He was appointed in Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Commonwealth Literary Fund in 1947. The Palmer Prize was managed by the State Library of Victoria from 1997 to 2010.

Winners and shortlists

Winners of the Overall Victorian Prize for Literature have a blue ribbon.
YearAuthorTitleResultRef.
2011 That Deadman DanceWinner
2011Five BellsFinalist
2011When Colts RanFinalist
2011'Finalist
2011Bright and Distant ShoresFinalist
2011'Finalist
2012Foal's BreadWinner
2012All That I AmFinalist
2012'Finalist
2012Cold LightFinalist
2012'Finalist
2012Mateship with BirdsFinalist
2014Coal CreekWinner
2014Questions of TravelFinalist
2014'Finalist
2014Burial RitesFinalist
2014EyrieFinalist
2014'Finalist
2015To Name Those LostWinner
2015Only the AnimalsFinalist
2015Golden BoysFinalist
2015'Finalist
2015DemonsFinalist
2015NFinalist
2016The World Without UsWinner
2016Fever of AnimalsFinalist
2016'Finalist
2016CladeFinalist
2016Forever YoungFinalist
2016'Finalist
2017Between a Wolf and a DogWinner
2017'Finalist
2017Wood GreenFinalist
2017WaitingFinalist
2017'Finalist
2017The Love of a Bad ManFinalist
2018Australia DayWinner
2018'Finalist
2018'Finalist
2018The ChokeFinalist
2018'Finalist
2018TabooFinalist
2019'Winner
2019FlamesFinalist
2019IronbarkFinalist
2019'Finalist
2019'Finalist
2019Too Much LipFinalist
2020DamascusWinner
2020'Finalist
2020Act of GraceFinalist
2020Simpson ReturnsFinalist
2020'Finalist
2021 'Winner
2021'Finalist
2021Our ShadowsFinalist
2021'Finalist
2022SmokehouseWinner'
2022After StoryFinalist
2022Bodies of LightFinalist
2022EcholaliaFinalist
2022'Finalist
2022PermafrostFinalist
2023 Cold Enough for SnowWinner
2023'Finalist
2023This Devastating FeverFinalist
2023An Exciting and Vivid Inner LifeFinalist
2023'Finalist
2024EdenglassieWinner
2024Only Sound RemainsFinalist
2024SerengottiFinalist
2024WallFinalist
2024Stone Yard DevotionalFinalist
2024But the GirlFinalist
2025Highway 13Winner
2025The BurrowFinalist
2025The EchoesFinalist
2025Host CityFinalist
2025Theory & PracticeFinalist
2025Woo WooFinalist
2026, Leonie Norrington, Djawa Burarrwanga & Djawundil MaymuruA Piece of Red ClothFinalist
2026The Immigrants: Fabula Mirabilis, or A Wonderful StoryFinalist
2026CannonFinalist
2026The Sun was Electric LightFinalist
2026FiercelandFinalist
2026The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our KitchenFinalist