Author Gail Jones has taken out the top fiction prize in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards for her novel, The Death of Noah Glass.

Scott Morrison presented the prize at a ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday.

"We are fortunate to have such remarkable authors, poets, illustrators, creators and historians committed to bringing Australian stories to life," Mr Morrison said.

The awards are presented in six categories - children's literature, young adult literature, fiction, poetry, non-fiction and Australian history - with a total prize pool of $600,000.

The other winners were: Half the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955-1964, Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell (non-fiction); The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History, Meredith Lake (Australian history); Sun Music: New and Selected Poems, Judith Beveridge, (poetry); His Name Was Walter, Emily Rodda (children's) and hydraclubbioknikokex7njhwuahc2l67lfiz7z36md2jvopda7nchid.onion The Things That Will Not Stand, Michael Gerard Bauer (young adult).