In one of the first major arts announcement by the new Victorian Labor government, with Creative Industry Minister Martin Foley announcing the 21-title shortlist across five categories, with a total prize pool of more than $200,000.

Dovey is in company with multiple-award winner Sonya Hartnett for Golden Boys, former National Gallery of Australia curator Mark Henshaw for The Snow Kimono, short-fiction specialist Wayne Macauley for Demons, poet John A. Scott for his speculative historical thriller N and former winner of a Vogel award for unpublished manuscript Rohan Wilson for To Name Those Who Lost.

Dovey grew up between Australia and South Africa and lived in New York before settling in Sydney. With her second work of fiction, Only the Animals, she has been hailed as part of a new generation of Australian literary voices that also includes Hannah Kent, winner of the 2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.

Notably half of the books nominated in this category come from independent outfits – Text Publishing and Brandl and Schlesinger, publisher of literary magazine Southerly.

Editor of The Saturday Paper Erik Jensen has been shortlisted for his colourful biography of the late Sydney artist Adam Cullen, Acute Misfortune.

Two titles from academic publisher NewSouth are also in the non-fiction shortlist: The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation by Alan Atkinson and Darwin by Tess Lea. Yet Sophie Cunningham's Walkey long-listed book on the city up north has been ignored by judges, Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy.

Don Watson's The Bush, a well-reviewed exploration of our regional obsessions and Julie Szego's breakdown of the troubling conviction of a young Somali man in The Tainted Trial of Farah Jama are also listed for non-fiction.

Unlike other categories, the drama prize is solely populated by locals: Alison Croggon for a libretto on Stalin's favourite poet, Mayakovsky, Angus Cerini for abstract work Resplendance and Daniel Keene's defence force collaboration The Long Way Home.

Justine Larbalestier's historical thriller Razorhurst gets a gong in the young adult category along with solid crowd favourite Jaclyn Moriarty (The Cracks in the Kingdom) and Inky Award-listed Claire Zorn (The Protected).

Small publisher Puncher and Wattman will be celebrating too, with two titles in the poetry shortlist, Jill Jones' The Beautiful Anxiety and Andy Kissane's Radiance. Susan Bradley Smith's Bed For All Who Come has also been nominated, following positive international reviews.

FICTION

Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey (Penguin)

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett (Penguin)

The Snow Kimono by Mark Henshaw (Text Publishing)

Demons by Wayne Macauley (Text Publishing)

N by John A. Scott (Brandl & Schlesinger)

To Name Those Lost by Rohan Wilson (Allen & Unwin)

NON-FICTION

The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation by Alan Atkinson (NewSouth)

Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen by Erik Jensen (Black Inc.)

Darwin by Tess Lea (NewSouth)

Where Song Began by Tim Low (Penguin)

The Tainted Trial of Farah Jama by Julie Szego (Wild Dingo Press)

The Bush by Don Watson (Penguin)

DRAMA

Resplendence by Angus Cerini (Cerini/Doubletap)

Mayakovsky by Alison Croggon (Carriageworks/Sydney Chamber Opera)

The Long Way Home by Daniel Keene (STC)

POETRY

Bed For All Who Come by Susan Bradley Smith (Five Islands Press)

The Beautiful Anxiety by Jill Jones (Puncher and Wattman)

Radiance by Andy Kissane (Punchman and Wattman)

YOUNG ADULT

Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin)

The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty (Pan Macmillan)

The Protected by Claire Zorn (UQP)