A collaborative novel titled A Piece of Red Cloth has won the $80,000 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for fiction. The work, which intertwines pre-colonial Yolngu oral history with Western storytelling, was co-written by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal authors, including Leonie Norrington, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, and Yolngu knowledge holders Djawundil Maymuru and Djawa Burarrwanga.
Read More
Set in a coastal north-east Arnhem Land community in the 1600s, the novel depicts the cultural exchanges between Yolngu people and Makassan fishers from modern-day Indonesia. It explores the transition from peaceful trade to exploitation, as Dutch colonisers began to manipulate the trade for access to girls and young women. Central to the narrative is a Yolngu elder’s struggle to protect her granddaughter amidst these new threats. According to Ganambarr-Stubbs, the novel represents a “true history” that has been preserved through oral tradition.
Ahead of the award ceremony in Canberra on Thursday night, Norrington emphasized the significance of recognizing pre-colonial Australian stories. She stated that winning the award reflects a shift in acknowledging the foundational stories of Australia, moving beyond Captain Cook to recognize the Indigenous people who inhabited the land first.
The judges praised A Piece of Red Cloth as a “landmark achievement in fiction” and noted its high standard of collaboration between writers of different backgrounds. They described it as “a profound work of remembrance and re-imagination.”
Djawundil Maymuru, who passed away in 2025, played a crucial role in passing down the oral histories that influenced the book. Norrington reflected on her contribution, noting that she would have been proud of the recognition the story is receiving.
In addition to the fiction award, investigative journalist Kate Wild won the nonfiction prize for her book The Red House, which addresses the death of Kumanjayi Walker at the hands of Northern Territory Police in 2019. Wild’s work was recognized for its nuanced and compassionate insight into an ongoing national conversation. Zana Fraillon also received the children's literature award for her verse novel Song of a Thousand Seas, while Rohan Howitt won the Australian history prize for his book The Southern Frontier. Ender Başkan was awarded the poetry prize for his debut collection Two Hundred Million Musketeers, and Pip Harry received the young adult literature prize for Drift.
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the richest literary awards in Australia, boast a total tax-free prize pool of $600,000, with a maximum of $100,000 available for each category.