Awards season hasn't officially begun yet (although it's on the horizon), but Quvenzhané Wallis (star of Beasts of the Southern Wild) has picked up what I believe is her very first award for her performance in the film, THR reports.

The 16th annual Hollywood Film Awards – the first awards show of the 2012 Oscar season – will award 4 film industry professionals at a gala ceremony on October 22 at the Beverly Hilton.

The young Ms Wallis will be one of the four, receiving the New Hollywood Award, which honors the year's best new talent (past winners include Robert Pattinson, Gabourey Sidibe, and Jennifer Lawrence).

Joining Ms Wallis will be Judd Apatow, who will receive the Hollywood Comedy Award, which honors the year's best comedic talent; Cinematographer Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight Rises) will receive the Hollywood Cinematographer Award, which honors the year's best cinematographer; and visual effects supervisors Janek Sirrs and Jeff White (The Avengers) will receive the Hollywood Visual Effects Award, which honors the year's best visual effects artists.

Congrats to Ms Wallis, and all the other honorees.

I suspect that her name will come up a few more times during awards season; there's even talk of a potential Oscar nomination.

Up next for the 9-year-old star are roles in Steve McQueen's Twelve Years A Slave, and Frances Bodomo's short, Boneshaker.