- Shortlist for the 2024 Western Australian
Premier's Book Awards revealed
- Food, history, ecology, verse and mateship
in the running for Book of the Year
- Winners to be announced at the State Library
of Western Australia next month
The breadth and talent of
local authors is showcased in the shortlist for the 2024 Western Australian
Premier's Book Awards, announced today.
Twenty-five writers have
been recognised across five categories, with the shortlisted titles spanning
fiction, non-fiction, narrative poetry, children's books, essays, and memoir.
The winners will share in
$120,000 in prizes, including the coveted $60,000 Western Australian Writer's
Fellowship, which will afford one local writer the chance to research and write
a new work.
The Awards are an annual
event recognising excellence by Western Australian authors and illustrators.
The exceptional works on the shortlist represent uniquely Western Australian
tales, as well as ideas and perspectives which enrich our knowledge of the wider
world.
The Daisy Utemorrah Award
for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Fiction is administered and
funded by Broome-based publisher Magabala Books with support from the
Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, and Copyright
Agency. The Premier's Prize for Book of the Year is
sponsored by Writing WA.
The winners will be
announced on 7 June 2024 at the State Library of Western Australia alongside
the biennial Western Australian Writers Hall of Fame announcement.
For more information
about the Awards, visit the State Library's website www.slwa.wa.gov.au
Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:
"The announcement of the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
shortlist is an exciting event on WA's literary calendar.
"Our State is brimming with creative talent and these writers are
exemplars of their craft. I encourage all readers to pick up a copy of these
books at their local public library or bookseller.
"The State Library is the home of storytelling in Western Australia and
a fitting home for the Awards. Congratulations to all shortlisted
finalists."
Comments attributed to Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
"It is with great pleasure that I can reveal the shortlist for the 2024
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards.
"From history and mysteries to science and adventure, it was a bumper
year for entries. The range of titles on the shortlist shows the varied
interests of modern readers.
"We are fortunate to have extraordinary writers and illustrators in
Western Australia and through the Premier's Book Awards the State Government
supports and celebrates their hard work."
Awards Shortlist:
Premier's Prize for Book
of the Year, sponsored by Writing WA ($15,000)
- A
Better Place
by Stephen Daisley, published by Text Publishing
- Cellnight:
A verse novel by
John Kinsella, published by Transit Lounge
- The
Memory of Trees by
Viki Cramer, published by Thames & Hudson Australia
- Operation
Hurricane by
Paul Grace, published by Hachette Australia
- What's
for Dinner?
by Jill Griffiths, published by Thames & Hudson Australia
Premier's Prize for an
Emerging Writer ($15,000)
- I am the Mau and other stories by
Chemutai Glasheen, published by Fremantle Press
- The Map of William
by Michael Thomas, published by Fremantle Press
- Old Boy by Georgia Tree, published by
Fremantle Press
- Salt River Road by Molly Schmidt,published
by Fremantle Press
- The Things We Live With by
Gemma Nisbet, published by Upswell Publishing
Premier's Prize for
Children's Book of the Year ($15,000)
- City
of Light,
written by Julia Lawrinson, illustrated by Heather Potter and Mark Jackson,
published by Wild Dog Books
- The
Eerie Excavation: An Alice England Mystery by Ash Harrier, published by Pantera Press
- A
Friend for George,
written and illustrated by Gabriel Evans, published by Puffin, an imprint of
Penguin Random House Australia
- Our
Country: Where History Happened, written by Mark Greenwood and illustrated by Frané Lessac,
published by Walker Books Australia
- Scout
and the Rescue Dogs
by Dianne Wolfer, published by Walker Books Australia
Daisy Utemorrah Award for
Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Fiction, sponsored by Magabala
Books ($15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books)
- Dr Stephen Hagan – Acacia: 6 Eyes on
Yesterday
- Maureen Glover – Brothers in Arms
- Elise Thornthwaite – Underneath the Surface
- Marly and Linda Wells – Dusty Tracks
Western
Australian Writer's Fellowship ($60,000)
- Lucy
Dougan
- Alan
Fyfe
- Kylie
Howarth
- Laurie
Steed
- Emma
Young
