Arts Minister Peter Garrett has announced 29 great Australian titles that have made it onto the 2010 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists. Minister Garrett said being shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards is a great achievement for authors that will bring further public recognition of their writing. For the first time, Young Adult Fiction and Children's Fiction categories have been added to the awards. Here is the Fiction shortlist: Summertime, J.M. Coetzee; The Book of Emmett, Deborah Forster; The Lakewoman, Alan Gould; Dog Boy, Eva Hornung; Ransom, David Malouf Lovesong, Alex Miller; and As the Earth turns Silver, Alison Wong. The Children's Fiction shortlist includes Harry and Hopper, Margaret Wild and illustrated by Freya Blackwood. Find out more about the shortlists at www.arts.gov.au/pmliteraryawards/shortlists

Do you dream of being a published writer? Enter Australia's most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript. The Australian/Vogel Literary Award is one of Australia's richest and the most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five. Offering publication by Allen & Unwin and prize money totalling $20,000, the Vogel Award has launched the careers of some of its most successful writers, including Tim Winton, Kate Grenville, Gillian Mears, Brian Castro, Mandy Sayer and Andrew McGahan. Vogel-winning authors have gone on to win or be shortlisted for other major awards, such as the Miles Franklin Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Booker Prize.

Entry forms for the 2010 Australian/Vogel Literary Award are now available from the Allen and Unwin website: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=442 This year is the 30th anniversary of The Australian/Vogel Literary Award and some exciting changes are afoot. After the judges make their final decision, the winner will be contacted by Allen & Unwin and work will begin on the winning manuscript. However, it won't be until May 2011, that the winner's name will be made public simultaneous with publication of their winning book

Okay don't worry about the budget ( well not too much anyway). This sounds much better instead - check out the first Tuesday Book Club on ABC TV tomorrow night featuring Jennifer Byrne Presents: Blockbusters and Bestsellers 10pm ABC1 ... Jennifer Byrne is joined by the heavy artillery of the publishing world to discuss what it takes to be a bestselling author. She is joined by the man behind the enigmatic Jack Reacher Lee Child, author of Ice Station and The Five Greatest Warriors Matthew Reilly, author of 17 bestselling novels including The Silent Country , Di Morrissey as well as Australia's biggest selling author Bryce Courtenay. It is repeated on Sunday 16th May 6:30pm ABC2. And for more author interviews head to the website: www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/

The judges have selected these six titles as the best in new Australian fiction for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2010: The World Beneath by Cate Kennedy, Ransom by David Malouf, Wanting by Richard Flanagan, Summertime by J.M Coetzee, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, 88 Lines about 44 Women by Steven Lang. And now the people of New South Wales can have their say. By casting a vote and signing up for the newsletter, you will have the chance to win some fantastic prizes. Voting is open until midnight 10th May 2010. Go to the website: http://www.pla.nsw.gov.au/

Scribe will be publishing another anthology of short stories, New Australian Stories 2.0, again edited by fiction acquisitions editor, Aviva Tuffield. New Australian Stories 2.0 will be published in February 2011. The anthology will feature established stars of the short-story firmament alongside new and emerging ones. Scribe are collaborating with two partners: Varuna, the Writers' House, will be running the Varuna/NAS national short story competition, with the winners (judged by Peter Bishop, Cate Kennedy and Aviva Tuffield) to be published in New Australian Stories 2.0, and/or to be awarded a week-long residency at Varuna to work with Cate Kennedy, one of Australia's finest writers of short stories. Submissions to the Varuna/NAS competition open on 1 June and close on 30 June. Visit the Varuna website for more details: www.varuna.com.au. And they are teaming up with the Ned Kelly Awards to publish the winner of the S.D. Harvey Short Story Award in New Australian Stories 2.0. This award was established in 2009 in honour of Sandra Harvey, a respected journalist who worked both for the Sydney Morning Herald and the ABC's Four Corners program, and was fearless in her pursuit of the truth. The prize money for the S.D. Harvey Short Story Award will be in excess of $1000. Applications for the S.D. Harvey Award close on 31 May. For more information about entering the award, go to: www.nedkellyawards.com

The Big Issue is calling for submissions to its annual fiction edition for 2010. Last year's edition virtually sold out and attracted contributions from the likes of Cate Kennedy, Debra Adelaide and Alice Pung, with two of its ten stories making the cut for Black Inc.'s Best Australian Stories 2009. To submit, send two printed (not electronic) copies of your entry (of up to 3000 words) to: Fiction Edition, The Big Issue, GPO Box 4911VV. Make sure your name and details are included on a removable coversheet. Closing date for entries is Monday 20 May 2010.

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson was born on February 17, 1864 and to celebrate his birthday Orange City Council, Central West Libraries, Central West Writers' Centre supported by The Central Western Daily and ABC Central West Radio announce the call for entries to the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards. It is important to note that entries into the Prose (Short Story), Open Poetry and Children's Writing Awards categories of the competition do not have to be in the style of Banjo's writing. Entry forms are available from Central West Libraries branches, by phoning 6393 8120, email: writing@orange.nsw.gov.au or [download here]. Entry is $10 for adults and $5 for children per entry. The competition closes on Friday 16 April 2010 and winners will be contacted by phone on Monday 21 June 2010. There are cash prizes to be won and the winning Prose (Short Story) entry will be published in the Central Western Daily.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with world-renowned romance writer, Valarie Parv, as she reveals some of the secrets of writing a romance novel. With 25 million copies of her books sold internationally, it's no wonder Valerie Parv is known as Australia's queen of romance. Then, following a booksigning and refreshments, enjoy a special screening of the Australian film Paperback Hero (1999), starring Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan. Imagine Hugh Jackman as Jack Willis, a handsome roadtrain driver with a secret - he has just become a top-selling romance novelist. But being a 'man's man', he needs a name, a woman's name - and he chooses that of his best friend, Ruby Vale. Cost: $10 (refreshments included) National Library of Australia, Theatre on Friday 12 February at 5pm. Bookings: 02 6262 1271 or bookings@nla.gov.au

Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett has announced the winners of the 2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards......fanfare, applause.......

The winner of the 2009 Fiction award is Nam Le for his book of short stories The Boat. The judging panel was impressed by the daring scope and excellence of its execution, the generous breadth of its emotional and social traverse and the excitement generated by every story.

In 2009, two books and three authors share the Non-Fiction award. The winners are Evelyn Juers for House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann; and Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds for Drawing the Global Colour Line. Both books explore important racial, moral and political issues of Australia's past. The Non-Fiction judging panel said "With great intellectual authority and international research Evelyn Juers, Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds tell their stories magnificently."

Find out more about the shortlist and winners at www.arts.gov.au/pmliteraryawards

The Armidale Playhouse Inc invites you to submit short stories and/or play scripts to be considered for its 2010 season of "Favourite Shorts". This annual event is now into its 4th year bringing the works of both published and unpublished Australian writers to the stage using directors and actors from the Armidale district. Each week of the two week season of "Favourite Shorts" has a different programme. This year they squeezed 36 actors into eleven plays with nine directors. All of the actors, directors, lighting and stage crew are amateurs, in that they are not paid for their time and expertise however many do have formal qualifications or are working towards them. The Armidale Playhouse Inc will not be providing performance payments to successful writers however they do offer a free double pass to those who wish to travel to Armidale to see a performance of their short story or play. After each performance the audience are requested to select their favourite item and after the final performance the favourite for that week is announced in a short informal presentation. All successful writers will receive their own pair of "Favourite Shorts" and a participation certificate. They request permission from all successful writers to film the performance of their short story or play. An Armidale-based professional production unit will be filming performances with DVDs available for sale a few weeks after performances conclude. Submissions of play scripts and short stories up to 30 minute duration* can be sent via email to scripts@armidaleplayhouse.org.au or to Favourite Shorts 2010, Armidale Playhouse Inc, PO Box 368, ARMIDALE NSW 2350 by Friday 18 December 2009.

*To estimate the duration of your short story or play script it's about 10 minutes per 1000 words.