Total prize money in 2019 was up to A$305,000, with eligibility limited to writers, translators and illustrators with Australian citizenship or permanent resident status.
The judging has been the subject of controversy in the past, when in 2010, the panel decided not to bestow the Play Award on any of the applicants.
An independent panel, chaired by journalist Gerard Henderson, reviewed both the Literary and the Premier's History Awards, focussed on the governance, selection criteria and judging processes.
In 2019 Michelle de Kretser won with The Life to Come and equalled Peter Carey's record of three wins.
[58] The first recipient was Manning Clark, who was awarded the Prize for the fourth volume in his series A History of Australia in 1979.
[10] The Ethel Turner Prize is awarded for work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry written for young people of secondary school level.
[67] The Children's Literature section of the Premier's Literary Awards began as a single award in 1979, but was redefined in 1999 to create the Patricia Wrightson Prize (for writing for a primary school audience) and the Ethel Turner Prize (for a secondary school audience).
Australian author Ursula Dubosarsky and writer Jaclyn Moriarty have each won the prize three times.
[10] The Patricia Wrightson Prize is awarded for work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry written for children up to secondary school level.
[9] The Children's Literature section of the Premier's Literary Awards began as a single award in 1979, but was redefined in 1999 to create the Patricia Wrightson Prize (for writing for a primary school audience) and the Ethel Turner Prize (for a secondary school audience).
[73] The first recipient was Odo Hirsch, for his debut children's book, Antonio S and the Mystery of Theodore Guzman.
[9][78][79] It is offered for: "a book of fiction or non-fiction, memoir or history; a play, musical drama or comedy, theatrical monologue or other theatrical performance; a book of collected poems or a single poem of substantial length published in book form; the screenplay of a feature or documentary film or episode of a television program...; or the script of a radio play or documentary which is deemed by the judges to have made a significant contribution to Australian literature, poetry, theatre, film, radio or television and which also considers any aspect of the Australian migration experience; and/or aspects of cultural diversity and multiculturalism in Australian society.
[88][89] The award was renamed in 2008 to honour Glenda Adams, the Australian novelist and short story writer who died in 2007.
[10] Awarded biennially, the Prize for Literary Scholarship was made to a book, CD-ROM or DVD which presents an original perspective on one or more published works.
[104] The Award is based on votes by New South Wales residents from the works shortlisted for the Christina Stead Prize for fiction.
[9] The Special Award can be proposed by the judges for a work that doesn't easily fit into the existing prizes, or as a general recognition of a writer's achievements.
The prize is intended to acknowledge the contribution made to Australian literary culture by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers.
[119] The first award was shared by joint winners, Bruce Pascoe for his book Dark Emu and Ellen van Neerven for Heat and Light.