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The Barbara Jefferis Award is offered biennially for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”.
Barbara Jefferis was a feminist, a founding member of the Australian Society of Authors, its first woman President and, in the words of Thomas Keneally, “a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted. She was a professional and internationally published writer long before most of us dreamed of such things”.
The Award is supported by the Barbara Jefferis Literary Fund, which was established as a result of a bequest from Barbara Jefferis’ husband, ABC film critic John Hinde, who died in 2006. The Australian Society of Authors is the Trustee of the Fund.
Past winners of the award include: Sara M Saleh, Songs for the Dead and the Living and Lucy Treloar, Days of Innocence and Wonder, 2024; Pitaya Chin, Revenge: Murder in Three Parts, 2022; Lucy Treloar, Wolfe Island, 2020; Libby Angel, The Trapeze Act, 2018; Peggy Frew, Hope Farm, 2016; Margo Lanagan Sea Hearts, and Fiona McFarlane, The Night Guest, 2014; Anna Funder, All That I Am, 2012; G.L. Osborne, Come Inside, 2011; Kristina Olsson, The China Garden, 2010; Helen Garner, The Spare Room, 2009; and Rhyll McMaster, Feather Man, 2008.
In 2026, the Award prize pool is valued at $55,000, with $50,000 for the winner and $5,000 to be shared among the short-listed authors, making this one of the most generous literary awards in Australia.
For the latest Barbara Jefferis Award news, follow @barbarajefferisaward on Instagram.
15 April 2026, 3 pm AEST
27 May 2026, 4 pm AEST
16 September 2026
Early November 2026, at the Colin Simpson Memorial Keynote
The Barbara Jefferis Award is for a novel (book-length work of fiction) first published commercially and distributed in the period 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025 (“Publication Period”).
Operations OfficerAustralian Society of AuthorsSuite C1.06, 22-36 Mountain StreetUltimo NSW 2007
Entries must conform to the Award’s Terms and Conditions.
To read more about the Barbara Jefferis Award, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions.
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the 2024 Barbara Jefferis Award: Sara M Saleh for Songs for the Dead and the Living and Lucy Treloar for Days of Innocence and Wonder.
This year two winners were selected to share the $50,000 prize, which has happened only once before in the award’s history.
Hannah Kent was joined on the judging panel by bestselling authors Jennifer Mills and Melanie Saward.
The 2024 shortlist included:
To read more about the 2024 Barbara Jefferis Award shortlist and winners, see here.
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA), is delighted to announce the winner of the 2022 Barbara Jefferis Award is S.L. Lim for Revenge: Murder in Three Parts (Transit Lounge Publishing).
This year’s judging panel was chaired by internationally bestselling author Toni Jordan. Jordan was joined on the panel by writer, musician, and former Barbara Jefferis Award winner Peggy Frew, and writer, poet and essayist Declan Fry.
The 2022 shortlist included:
Three highly commended novels were also selected:
To read more about the 2022 Barbara Jefferis Award shortlist and winners, see here.
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA), Trustee of the Barbara Jefferis Fund, is delighted to announce the winner of the 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award is Lucy Treloar for Wolfe Island (Picador Australia).
The judges noted:
‘Set on a sinking island, in a country riven by racial violence and social inequity, this brilliant novel demonstrates that catastrophes bring out the best and worst in people, and that lawless acts are sometimes necessary in order to save ourselves. Cat’s passing reference to The Grapes of Wrath at one point is apt, for the parables contained in Kitty Hawke’s meetings during her epic journey north to the border, were reminiscent of any everyman’s journey undertaken in classic works of literature. Kitty’s later reconciliation with Hartford, Claudie, and with Alejandra offer hope for the future. Lucy Treloar’s novel is of immense contemporary relevance about the redemptive power of female intuition, resistance and resilience.’
ASA CEO, Olivia Lanchester said, “Our warmest congratulations go to Lucy Treloar. Wolfe Island is an exceptional novel, and a powerful contribution to literature which foregrounds the lives and experiences of older women. We are honoured to be the Trustee of such an important award, and are grateful for the generosity of John Hinde who bequeathed the Fund in honour of his wife, Barbara Jefferis.”
Treloar was announced as this year’s winner in an online ceremony hosted by Bri Lee, who delivered a thought-provoking speech on the representation of women in literature.
The award received a record number of entries in 2020 and judges Dr. Robyn Sheahan-Bright, Dr. Jeremy Fisher, and Barbara Horgan judged an incredibly diverse and creative pool of talent.
The 2020 shortlist included:
The winner announcement took place at an online ceremony on Wednesday 18 November 2020 at 4pm AEDT on Youtube, hosted by award-winning author Bri Lee.Watch it here.
