The Chief Minister's Northern Territory History Book Awards are now closed. A shortlist of finalists will be announced soon.

The overall winner will be announced at the awards ceremony in the Main Hall, Parliament House, Darwin on Friday 9th October 2009.

Award Winner 2008

Winner: Philip Jones
Ochre and Rust

'Ochre and Rust' takes Aboriginal artefacts from their museum shelves and traces their stories, revealing charged and nuanced moments of encounter in Australia's frontier history. Philip Jones positions them at the centre of these gripping, poignant tales, transporting the reader into the heart of Australia's frontier zone.

 'Ochre and Rust' builds incrementally, resulting in a convincing new insight into our frontier past and the motives of its characters. (Wakefield Press)

Award shortlist 2008

The Northern Territory Library and Chief Minister of the Northern Territory would like to thank all authors who entered this year's Chief Minister's NT History Book Award. This year marks the 5th year of the award and it is encouraging to see authors continue to produce documented history on the Northern Territory of Australia. This year, the Library received twelve published books that met the 2008 conditions of entry.

Judging has taken place, with the shortlist as follows:

Philip Jones, author of 'Ochre and Rust'.

Alex Kruger & Gerrard Waterford, authors of 'Alone on the Soaks'.

Philip Jones & Anna Kenny, authors of 'Australia's Muslim Cameleers'.

Baiba Berzins, author of 'Australia's Northern Secret: Tourism in the Northern Territory'.

Robert Foster & Amanda Nettlebeck, authors of 'In the Name of the Law'.

Andrew McMillan, author of 'An Intruder's Guide to East Arnhem Land'.

Darrel Lewis, author of 'The Murranji Track'.

The overall winner was announced at the awards ceremony in the Main Hall, Parliament House, Darwin on Friday 3rd October 2008.

Award Winners and finalists for:

• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004