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UQP authors shortlisted for the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards
Posted 03.08.2022

UQP authors shortlisted for the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards

Congratulations to all the UQP authors shortlisted across categories in the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards. The QLAs recognise and celebrate the exceptional literary talents of esteemed and emerging Queensland writers. We're thrilled to see UQP titles across almost all categories this year. The winners' announcement will take place live and online.

Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance

Operation Jungleby John Shobbrook

Judges' comments:

In this gripping personal account, former narcotics agent Shobbrook introduces us to the lesser-known world of 1970s heroin importation into Far North Queensland. Well documented and wonderfully retold, his attempts to expose the truth of corruption at the heart of government institutions, including the police, led to his own ostracism and downfall.


Another Day in the Colonyby Chelsea Watego

Judges' comments:

In this fierce, insightful collection of essays, Chelsea Watego writes under the skin of the nation to document the sustained systematic racism First Nations peoples of Australia experience daily. Through a powerful assemblage of critical race theory, memoir, philosophy, and archival imagery, Another Day in the Colony reiterates and reclaims First Nations stories and experiences to decentre and destabilize settler-colonial narratives and practices. In doing so, Watego carves out a space where Black intellectual sovereignty is free from the white colonial gaze. 

The Burnished Sunby Mirandi Riwoe

Judges' comments:

Confirming her place as one of Australia’s finest fiction stylists, Riwoe presents a rich and diverse collection of short stories and novellas that take the reader deep into the lives of their characters. Precise and lyrical, with great use of texture and detail, her blend of historical and contemporary stories examine racism, misogyny and colonialism, often highlighting how little has changed.

The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award

The Keepersby Al Campbell

Judges' comments:

A powerful exploration of how the cycle of intergenerational abuse can be splintered through sacrifice and love. Full of chaotic, metaphysical scenes that reflect the aching fear and grind of life with mental illness interspersed with scathing, wry humour and the joy shared between a mother and her neurodiverse twins.

The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award

Another Day in the Colonyby Chelsea Watego

Judges' comments:

In this collection of essays, Chelsea Watego writes insightfully and incisively about her experiences as a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman in so-called Australia. Watego is unapologetic in her criticism of the ongoing colonialism present in Australian society, and carves out a space for her voice as well as those of other First Nations peoples.

Children's Book Award

My Brother Benby Peter Carnavas

Judges' comments:

Birdwatcher Luke and his big brother Ben share a tight bond that is under strain as they grow older. Can winning a boat prevent them from drifting apart? Gentle observation, beguiling line illustrations and lyrical prose centre this celebration of brotherhood while also evoking an idyllic Queensland childhood spent revelling in nature.

University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection

Dark As Last Nightby Tony Birch

Judges' comments:

Dark as Last Night is a superbly crafted set of stories that are in turn poignant, wry and well observed. Birch’s writing canvases a range of experiences and voices, from childhood to jaded adulthood, with technical grace and a telling eye for the sort of detail that resonates.

The Burnished Sunby Mirandi Riwoe

Judges' comments:

Two novellas and ten short stories that demonstrate an impressive range that moves assuredly across both the historical and the contemporary. Riwoe has a rare skill of being able to put the reader very much in the shoes of her protagonists to viscerally sympathise with their situation and the choices they’re forced to make.

If You're Happyby Fiona Robertson

Judges' comments:

A very well-crafted collection that hops the globe to present a variety of settings and situations, all conjured with notable technical proficiency. Often subtle and understated, these are stories that bring the reader effortlessly into scenarios that are adeptly drawn and skilfully evoked.

Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection

At the Altar of Touchby Gavin Yuan Gao

Judges' comments:

In their debut collection, At the Altar of Touch, Gavin Yuan Gao seeks out the known world’s edge, aware that existence gains its contours from the lives comprising it. The poems are a reflection on memory and inheritance in which being forms its own world, observed through Gao’s tirelessly refractive lens.

The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award

The Keepersby Al Campbell

Another Day in the Colonyby Chelsea Watego