2021 Northern Territory Literary Awards Finalists Announced

Color Photo of the 2020 NT Lit Awards Finalists

The finalists of the 2021 Northern Territory Literary Awards have been selected.

The annual Northern Territory Literary Awards have celebrated the work of Northern Territory writers for more than 35 years.

The Awards are part of an ongoing program of events at Library & Archives NT (LANT) that celebrate the achievements of established and emerging writers, storytellers and prominent Territorians.

More than 450 submissions were received across seven categories from around the Territory, including Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Ramingining, Alice Springs and Darwin.

Winners will be announced and presented with their prizes at the Awards ceremony held at the Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs and livestreamed at the Northern Territory Library, Darwin on Wednesday 15 September, 5.30pm. The event will also be live streamed on the LANT Facebook page. 

This free event is open to the public. Tickets will be available online four weeks prior to the event date. For more information go to: https://lant.nt.gov.au/whats-on-library.

A publication featuring the works of the winners and finalists will be available online and in printed form at LANT venues. 

Congratulations to all the finalists of this year's Literary Awards, and thank you to everyone who submitted works. Your writing continues to inform, inspire and entertain us.

The 2021 Northern Territory Literary Awards shortlist

Brown's Mart Theatre Award

COLLIDE – physical theatre work – Tania Lieman
If I Had Known You Better - Michaela Vaughan
Calls to 1194 – Sandra Thibodeaux

Charles Darwin University Creative Non-Fiction Award

Beasts of Loss and Love Ashleigh Ascoli
Stories From My BackyardMeg Mooney
Listlessness and the Hemisphere of HopeJames Murray
A HomecomingAlley Pascoe

Charles Darwin University Essay Award

Discrimination Against Women Prisoners in the Darwin Correctional Centre Laura Burfitt
What can be learned about community-led disaster resilience from the experience of Nauiyu Aboriginal Community in the Northern Territory? Annie Ingram
Destroyer doomed from the start - the rewritten story of USS Peary's final combat action in Darwin 1942 Tom Lewis

Flash Fiction Award

The Miracle, UnravellingCharlotte Durand
Re: application for the conversion of feelingsStephen W Enciso
The CarpenterRiley Rusu

Kath Manzie Youth Award

VellichorSophie France
Holding onto youGabriella Francis
SundayElisha Pettit
A ThreadGabriella Tsougranis

NT Writers' Centre Poetry Award

dear AliceBrian Obiri – Asare
PredictionsJohanna Bell
DiscretionGabriel Curtin
Deep RootedKelly Lee Hickey
I be, Unseen, I endThomas Mayor
ParadiseRachael McGuirk

Zip Print Short Story Award

The Summer I didn’t DrownMJ Clark
One Night in MillnerBarbara Eather
The Big EmptyRachael McGuirk
This ManTamara Salajic

Past Publications can be viewed at https://ntl.nt.gov.au/

Image credit: LANT, 2020 Finalists NT Literary Awards, 2020.