Julian Day and Katy Abbott are among the 40 songwriters and composers named as finalists for this year’s $15,000 Awards.

Award-winning composer, broadcaster, writer and artist Julian Day is one of five composers named as a finalist in the classical category of the 2017 APRA Professional Development Awards. His fellow nominees are composers Katy Abbott, Tristan Coelho, Amanda Cole and Nicole Murphy.

^{Julian Day. Photograph courtesy of the ABC}

They are among 40 Australian songwriters and composers announced as finalists across seven categories – Popular Contemporary, Classical, Jazz, Film & Television, Country, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and Dance/Electronic. Five finalists have also been named for the Indigenous Music and Media Award, supported by Smugglers of Light, a foundation set up in memory of Eli Westlake, son of composer Nigel Westlake, who was tragically killed in 2008 at the age of 21.

The APRA Professional Development Awards are held every two years. The winners of the career-boosting initiative take home a cash prize of $15,000. Previous winners in the classical category include Peter McNamara, Alex Pozniak and Melody Eötvös. This year, 60 percent of the 40 finalists are women.

Day is well-known...