Wonderful World of Words

Put pen to paper or tap fingers on keyboards, as the NT Literary Awards return to celebrate the written words of Territorians. 

^{By Tierney Seccull}

Established in 1984 by Northern Territory University – now Charles Darwin University – the annual awards are facilitated by the NT Library & Archives (LANT) in cahoots with NT Writers’ Centre.

Created to celebrate the achievements of Territory wordsmiths, the Awards have featured unpublished works by both established and emerging writers, storytellers and academics.

There are seven categories to enter, including theatre scripts, academic essays, fiction and poetry. In addition to winning the honour, there’s a swag of prizes up for grabs, including cold hard cash and industry opportunities.

Julie U’Ren took out the prize in the 2023 Flash Fiction category, and says she was honoured to receive the accolade.

“It was a real buzz to win. I have entered [the Awards] before and have been a finalist in the Flash Fiction section, which was lovely, but to actually win, I was surprised,” she says.

“It was such a buzz. Knowing that your writing has somehow connected with someone else, is fantastic in and of itself.”

Submissions open this month and run until May, with shortlisted entries announced in July before NT literature’s big night of nights in September. According to U’Ren, the existence of the Awards means the NT’s better for it.

“We know Territory stories that are told are unique about place, Country, culture – the interactions between people. As such a rich setting for storytelling, it’s just fantastic the writing is nurtured by the NT Literary Awards, it’s fantastic what the Library & Archives and NT Writers’ Centre do in terms of encouraging people. It’s really worth a lot.”

If you’ve got a tale rolling around in your mind, some prose to expose, or knowledge on a Territory topic to impart, let them loose at the 2024 NT Literary Awards.

NT Literary Awards
WHEN MON 11 MAR (ENTRIES OPEN) | MON 13 MAY (ENTRIES CLOSE)
INFO lant.nt.gov.au

_{Photo: 2023 NT Literary Awards winners and finalists}