Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman today announced the shortlists for the 2019 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards.
The Awards support, develop and recognise excellence in writing. At $60,000, the Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship is one of the most valuable awards in Australian arts and open to writers of any style, medium or genre. Other than the Daisy Utemorrah Award, all the awards are only open to Western Australian authors.
The winners of the 2019 Premier’s Book Awards will be announced in August 2020 at the State Library of Western Australia. During the event, a new inductee will be welcomed into the WA Writers Hall of Fame.
The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Fiction is open to Indigenous writers from across Australia. This award is administered by Broome-based Indigenous publisher Magabala Books with support from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
The shortlists:
The Premier’s Prize for an Emerging Writer ($15,000)
- Fabulous Lives by Bindy Pritchard (Margaret River Press)
- Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard (Fremantle Press)
- Rapture’s Roadway by Virginia Jealous (Ventura Press)
- The Wooleen Way by David Pollock (Scribe Publications)
- Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories by Helen Milroy (Fremantle Press)
The Premier’s Prize for Writing for Children ($15,000)
- Alex and the Alpacas Save the World by Kathryn Lefroy (Fremantle Press)
- Catch a Falling Star by Meg McKinlay (Walker Books Australia)
- Let me Sleep, Sheep! by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge (Walker Books Australia)
- The Gift by Michael Speechley (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Violet and Nothing by Fiona Burrows (Fremantle Press)
The Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship ($60,000)
- Amanda Curtin
- Lucy Dougan
- Rafeif Ismail
- Caitlin Maling
- Carl Merrison
The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Fiction ($15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books)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; and
- Noble Intentions by Krista Dunstan
For information about the awards, go to the State Library of Western Australia’s website at
As stated by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
“These Awards remind us what fertile ground Western Australia is for writers, both emerging and experienced.
“This year we had an outstanding number of entries, which is evidence that writing and equally people’s love for reading continues to flourish.
“By extension, this means our libraries remain an important part of our community for readers, writers and as a valuable gathering place for everyone.”
