The 2026 NSW Literary Awards shortlists have been announced!

The NSW Literary Awards are the richest and longest running state-based literary awards in Australia and cover all genres of writing.

Congratulations to the following Magabala creators nominated for their work in their respective categories. See below for the full list of Magabala creators nominated as well as the judges comments.

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature

Desert Tracks
Marly Wells and Linda Wells

Judges' comments

Millie becomes absorbed in a story set over a century ago in her hometown of Alice Springs. The story acts as a springboard for the imagination in the way that good stories do — dissolving boundaries, expanding experience, seeding new insights. But we soon discover that this story contains an even more transcendent power. As Millie reads, she is swept away from her ordinary life into the world she is reading about. And it’s here that she finds the inhabitants of her familiar yet different land. 

The nature of this meeting, and the discovery and depth of Millie’s relationships are beautifully handled — tender, earthy, spiritually nourishing. The shy, open natures of the young people from different generations, and the way they share their experiences, hopes and fears is achingly moving. Desert Tracks tells the truth we need to know as Australian people. It’s told from the inside, hearts and history coming alive as the story unfolds inside us.

Indigenous Writers' Prize

Old Days Imanka nurna laakinha nitjaarta
Marjorie Nunga Williams

Judges comments:

Marjorie Nunga Williams’ Old Days Imanka nurna laakinha nitjaarta is about her growing up on Country and some of the adventures she went on. It’s a two-way telling of her grandmother’s story from a child’s perspective as they grow up and remember how connected they felt to her Country. 

Williams’ illustrations are full of character and colour that reflect the beauty of her Country and will capture a child’s imagination. It’s great to see Western Arrarnta language throughout the story with English as well. This book will delight children’s interest in another First Nations story from Australia’s First Nations storytellers.

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing

A Savage Turn
Luke Patterson

Judges comments:

A powerful collection that blends meditation on Country with formal experimentation and explorations of language. The poems confront the losses caused by colonisation and the hypocrisies of those who seek even more advantage from the theft of land and desecration of culture. Luke Patterson’s poems range from tender explorations of nature and culture through to manifesto-like pieces that outline and call for action. 

The poems show a fierce and empathetic intellectual engagement with the process of gaining cultural knowledge. Patterson’s work is urgent in its appreciation of shared culture, and in its belief that First Nations culture will not be contained or silenced. This is a collection that announces a new and powerful voice, a voice reckoning with the present as it struggles for a better future. 

Congratulations again to Marley Wells, Linda Wells, Marjorie Nunga Williams and Luke Patterson on their shortlistings.