Amongst the fourty-strong list of songwriters up to 60% of the finalists are women, including several high profile artists and some up and coming names as well. These include Tkay Maidza, Julia Jacklin, Montaigne, Laura Lowther (FKA Kučka) and screen composer Amy Bastow.
Held every two years, the awards were selected by a panel of industry professionals including Lior, Mia Dyson, Johannes Luebbers, James Blundell, Brooke McClymont, Cat Hope, Dan Zilber, Kevin Bennett, Leah Flanagan, John Ferris and more.
See the full list of nominated artists below.
POPULAR CONTEMPORARY (three awards will be given in this category)
Ainslie Wills, Dave Crowe, Elizabeth Mitchell, Hannah Cameron, Hannah Crofts, Jessica Cerro pka Montaigne, Julia Jacklin, Peter Harding pka Thief, Sophie Payten pka Gordi and Tkay Maidza
ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER
Benjamin Walker, Jess Beck, Joseph Dargan pka Lucky Luke, Robbie Miller and Zaachariaha Fielding
CLASSICAL
Amanda Cole, Julian Day, Katy Abbott, Nicole Murphy and Tristan Coelho
COUNTRY
Christie Lamb, Danielle Blakey, Fanny Lumsden, Kaylee Bell and Timothy James Bowen
DANCE/ELECTRONIC
Jacob Grant pka Just a Gent, Laura Lowther pka Kučka, Nat Conway, Nicholas Drabble pka Set Mo and Oscar Key Sung
FILM & TELEVISION
Amy Bastow, Angela Little, Claire Deak, Damien Lane and Pru Montin
JAZZ
Andrea Keller, Daniel Susnjar, Kristin Berardi, Sam Anning and Steve Barry
SMUGGLERS OF LIGHT
Eric Avery, Gina Williams, Jessica Hitchcock, Yirrmal Marika and Zaachariaha Fielding
The winners of the APRA PDAs will be announced on July 25 2017.