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WA Premier’s Book Awards shortlists announced

The shortlists for this year’s Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards have been announced.

The shortlisted titles in each category are:

Premier’s Prize for an emerging writer ($15,000)

  • Fabulous Lives (Bindy Pritchard, Margaret River Press)
  • Invisible Boys (Holden Sheppard, Fremantle Press)
  • Rapture’s Roadway (Virginia Jealous, Ventura Press)
  • The Wooleen Way (David Pollock, Scribe)
  • Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories (Helen Milroy, Fremantle Press)

Premier’s Prize for writing for children ($15,000)

  • Alex and the Alpacas Save the World (Kathryn Lefroy, Fremantle Press)
  • Catch a Falling Star (Meg McKinlay, Walker Books)
  • Let me Sleep, Sheep! (Meg McKinlay, illus by Leila Rudge, Walker Books)
  • The Gift (Michael Speechley, Puffin)
  • Violet and Nothing (Fiona Burrows, Fremantle Press)

The Daisy Utemorrah Award for unpublished Indigenous junior and YA writing ($15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books)

  • ‘Our Matriarchs’ by Teela May Reid
  • ‘18 Comments’ by Ellen van Neerven
  • ‘Swell’ by Elizabeth Stuart
  • ‘Yenda’ by Jannali Jones
  • ‘Noble Intentions’ by Krista Dunstan

Western Australian Writing Fellowship ($60,000) 

  • Amanda Curtin
  • Lucy Dougan
  • Rafeif Ismail
  • Caitlin Maling
  • Carl Merrison.

Of the four award categories, three are open only to Western Australian authors, while the Daisy Utemorrah Award is open to Indigenous writers from all states and territories. The awards returned to an annual format in 2019 after moving to a biennial format in 2015.

The winners of this years awards will be announced in late August at an event at the State Library of Western Australia.

 

Category: Local news