AAANZ Art Writing and Publishing Awards (AWAPAs) recognise the best in arts writing and research across Australia and New Zealand.
ENTRIES for the 2025 AWAPAs are NOW OPEN
The AWAPAs highlight the vitality of arts publishing in the region and acknowledges the contribution of both emerging and established scholars, curators and artists. The Awards play a pivotal role in promoting the importance of writing and publishing in disseminating knowledge and understanding of the visual arts, craft and design. They are the only prizes in the Australasia region to celebrate the publishing achievements writers make to the field.
AWAPAs categories include prizes for books, exhibition catalogues, artist led publications, Indigenous Australian, Māori and Pasifika art writing. The Awards are sponsored by a number of universities, art museums, associations, publishing bodies and individuals.
AWAPAs recognises:
- Originality and rigour of scholarship
- Contribution to knowledge in the area and impact on scholarly debate in the field
- Significance of the topic to the field and to adjacent disciplines
- Significance and originality of arts research
- Quality of the design and production values of the publication
- Ability to convey complex ideas to wider audiences
To enter a publication in the AWAPAs, entrants must be a AAANZ member. Staff affiliated with museums and galleries that have AAANZ institutional membership are also eligible to enter publications. The year of publication for all entries must be 2024.
Prize winners of each AWAPAs category are announced at the annual AAANZ conference.
The deadline for AWAPAs entries is Friday 8 August, 2025
Eligibility and Conditions
- AWAPAs entries are open to Australian and New Zealand writers and publishers
- Australian and New Zealand writers published by an international publishing company are eligible to enter
- Entrants can be the author, editor or publisher
- Entrants can only be considered for one AWAPAs category
- Entrants must be a AAANZ member or staff affiliated with a museum or gallery that has AAANZ institutional membership
- Nominations can be received by any AAANZ member for the following categories: Nur: Best Critical Art Writing by an Indigenous Australian; and Best Art Writing by a Māori or Pasifika
- Publication nominations for Best Writing by a Māori or Pasifika can be entered in another AWAPAs category, however, the publication is only eligible to win one category
- Books, catalogues and articles must be published in 2024 to be eligible
- Entries for Best Artist Led Publication: Essay/Catalogue/Book are eligible if they have been published in the previous four years, 2020 ‒ 2024
- Best Artist Led Publication: Essay/Catalogue/Book can only be entered in the AWAPAs once
- Following completion of the online AWAPAs entry form, two copies of each publication are required to be posted to the AAANZ Business Manager for judging
- AAANZ reserves the right to reallocate the selected category
- All articles published in the 2024 issue of the ‘Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art’ will be automatically entered in the Best Scholarly Article category
- AAANZ reserves the right not to make an award in a category if it considers no award is merited, or to make a joint award
- The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into
How to enter
Fill in the nomination form here (if you are submitting multiple entries please use a separate form for each publication).
Following completion of the online AWAPAs entry form, two copies of each publication are required to be posted to the AAANZ Business Manager for judging. Postal details pop up after successful completion of the entry form.
For all enquiries please contact the AAANZ Business Manager
Prize Categories
For full prize category details go to AWAPAs
Best Book
Best Anthology
Best Large Exhibition Catalogue
Best Medium Exhibition Catalogue
Best Small Exhibition Catalogue
Best Scholarly Article in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art
Nur: Best Critical Art Writing by an Indigenous Australian
Best Art Writing by a Māori or Pasifika
Best Artist Led Publication: Essay / Catalogue / Book
Best University Art Museums Exhibition Catalogue
For eligibility and conditions, prize categories and to enter go to AWAPAs
