The awards include national as well as state-based prizes, and offer three fellowships for South Australian writers.
[1][2] In 2020, the State Library of South Australia (SLSA) took over administration of the awards from Arts South Australia, and library director Geoff Strempel felt that the awards being presented in the late afternoon right at the end of a busy Writers' Week meant that they did not get the attention they deserved, especially compared with its interstate equivalents.
[6][2] There is a total prize pool of A$167,500, which is distributed 11 categories, including the Premier's Award.
South Australian awards and fellowships are the Jill Blewett Playwright's Award, the Arts South Australia/Wakefield Press Unpublished Manuscript Award, the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship, the Max Fatchen Fellowship (in honour of Adelaide author and journalist Max Fatchen), and the Tangkanungku Pintyanthi Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellowship.
[3] The awards are jointly funded by the SA government and the Libraries Board of South Australia.