Announcing the shortlist for the Penguin Random House Australia Literary Prize.
We are thrilled to announce the shortlisted authors for the inaugural Penguin Random House Australia Literary Prize, launched in July 2017.
The aim of the Prize, supported by Leading Edge Books, is to find, nurture and develop new Australian authors writing in the areas of literary fiction and non-fiction.
The six shortlisted authors were selected from a pool of 409 submissions, with the judging panel comprised of Penguin Random House Australia staff and Leading Edge Books representatives.
The shortlisted authors are:
- Andrea Gillum, novel, The Road Out of Town (Victoria)
- Gary Bryson, novel, Thin Air (New South Wales)
- Stephen Gray, novel, The Family Plot (Victoria)
- Kathryn Hind, novel, Hitch (Australian Capital Territory)
- Alice Bishop, stories, A Constant Hum (Victoria)
- Ellena Savage, lyric essays, Blueberries (Victoria)
Max Shirley, from Maclean’s Booksellers, commented that the shortlisted candidates work was “outstanding and would be easily hand sold by any Australian bookseller”.
“The judges were all very impressed with the quality of the submissions received, making it a difficult decision to choose just six. This is a fantastic situation to be in with such an overwhelming response,” said Ben Ball, Publishing Director Penguin Random House Literary.
The winner, to be announced on Friday 9 February 2018, will be awarded $20,000 and an ongoing relationship with Penguin Random House Australia.
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Two Penguin Random House titles have been awarded the Women's Prize this year.
Penguin Random House Australia is thrilled to announce Driftwood by Brooke Maddison as the winner of the Penguin Literary Prize 2026.
Penguin Random House has won Publisher of the Year at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs). The 2026 ABIA have just been announced and we are beyond excited to share that Penguin Random House has been awarded Publisher of the Year marking our third consecutive win - and fifth in six years!
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We are delighted to share that Virginia Evans and Susan Choi have been shortlisted for the Women's Prize For Fiction 2026 awards!
Check out the Penguin Random House books that have been shortlisted for the ABIAs in 2026. The winners will be announced on 21 May 2026.
We are delighted to share that we have an abundance of female authors shortlisted for the Women's Prize For Non-fiction 2026 awards!
See which bookstores have been named recipients of the Penguin Children’s Bookseller Grant.
In exciting news, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy has been named Dymocks Book of the Year 2025.
We're delighted to announce the recipients of the 2025 Write It Fellowship: Dayle Fogarty, Naomi Fogarty and Violet Marr.
Propulsive and hypnotic, Flesh asks profound questions about what drives a life: what makes it worth living, and what breaks it.