Award Terms and Conditions

To be eligible for the 2024 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award, submissions:

• Must be an original work dealing with some aspect of Australian life.
• Must be first published between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023.
• Must be first published in Australia: the book may have been printed off-shore.
• Must not be solely published as an e-book.
• May be in any genre including (but not limited to): fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or performance.
• May be written by more than one author.
• All authors (including co-authors) must be identified on the Nomination Form. Prize money will be shared equally unless the authors unanimously request that different proportions apply.
• May be published by more than one publisher, in collaboration.
• Must be nominated, using the online form, by 15 December 2023.
• Must be accompanied by the Nomination Fee of $50.
• Must be received no later than the end of December 2023.
• A Nomination that fails to comply with any criterion will be disqualified.

• A Nomination Form must be completed for each book submitted.
• Books may be nominated by authors, publishers, literary agents or interested third parties. People or organisations nominating books on behalf of an author are responsible for gaining the author's consent for the nomination.
• The person named as the "submitter" on the Nomination Form will be the contact for that Nomination. If a nominated work is longlisted or shortlisted, the author will be included in any correspondence. The author(s) of the winning book will also be directly advised of the judges’ decision.
• Copies of works submitted as part of a Nomination will not be returned.

• Publishers may use longlisting, shortlisting and winning of the Award in subsequent promotion of the book or author.
• The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies expects that the Winner and their publisher will assist in publicity promoting Australian literature and the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award. Award winners should be prepared to attend the Annual Award Event in Townsville and participate in media opportunities relating to the Award.
• The Award shall be made, and the prize money paid, to the author or authors of the winning entry; or, in the event of an author’s death, to their estate. Acknowledgment of receipt by an author, or their estate, of the prize money shall discharge the Foundation’s obligations.

• Responsibility for the legal integrity of any work submitted for the Award remains with the author.
• The conduct of inviting nominations does not give rise to any legal or equitable relationship.
• No person will be entitled to claim compensation for loss from the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies for any matter in connection with these Awards.
• In all matters relating to the conditions of nomination and the judging process, the decisions of the judges and the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
• Whilst it is expected that these conditions will be strictly observed, the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Ltd reserves the right to alter or waive compliance with any condition if an exceptional circumstance arises which in its opinion would render a variation necessary.
• The Foundation reserves the right to cancel or not award a recipient the judges feel one is not suitable.

Privacy  Notice

The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies collects the personal information necessary to process a nomination and administer the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award. We will only use the personal information from the online application form for the purpose for which it has been provided and for directly related purposes such as contacting the applicant and to promote the shortlisted and winning nominations. We will not disclose the personal information without the consent of the individual to who the information relates, except for purposes directly related to administering this award.

The panel of judges for the award has been selected by the Board of Directors from the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies. They are made up of literature academics, literary sector professionals, writers, and avid readers.

• Eligibility of all nominations will be checked by Foundation staff including entry fee paid.
• All eligible nominations will be forwarded to the judging panel for reading, shortlisting and selection of shortlist and winner.
• The long and shortlist will be published on this website in July/August 2024, and the winning entry announced in October 2024.

• The prize shall be awarded for the publication which, in the opinion of the majority of the judges, is of the highest literary merit in its own genre and which makes a more notable contribution to the body of Australian literature than any publication in any other genre that may be submitted to them.
• If in the opinion of the majority of the judges, no publication submitted is of sufficiently high literary quality to warrant the awarding of the prize, no prize shall be awarded.
• If there should be two or more entries between which the judges are not able to make a final choice, the Board of Directors of the Foundation shall refer such entries to a person it nominates to make an adjudication. The adjudicator’s decision shall be final.
• If, in the opinion of any one or more of the judges, an entry is deemed to be ineligible for the Award and the judges are unable to reach a unanimous resolution confirming eligibility, the entry shall be referred to an adjudicator selected by the Board of Directors of the Foundation, whose decision shall be final.
• The judges, and any adjudicator who may be appointed shall not enter into correspondence with the author or publisher of any entry on matters relating to the style or content of that publication.

• Authors, publishers or other third parties entering publications must complete an online entry form for each title they wish to nominate.
• A $50 fee applies per entry and payment can be made with credit card only.
• An email acknowledgement will be sent once your entry form is received.

Five (5) hard copies of each book must be posted to the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Ltd at:

Foundation for Australian Literary Studies
C/o Building 4, Room 120
James Cook University
1 James Cook Drive, Townsville, QLD, 4811

IMPORTANT NOTE: Hard copies of titles must be received by the Foundation no later than end December 2023.