It's a cosmic irony that a book deeply critical of the Australian government should be among the winners of the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, author Rick Morton says. His book about the robodebt scandal, Mean Streak, has won the non-fiction category, making Morton one of six winners to receive the prestigious $80,000 prize. Morton has already won two Walkley awards for his coverage of the royal commission into the scandal. The winners of Australia's richest literary prize were announced at the National Library of Australia in Canberra Monday night, and will share in a $600,000 prize pool. The 2025 winners were selected by an independent panel of judges with shortlisted entries receiving $5000.