- 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The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Fiction is administered and funded by Broome-based publisher Magabala Books with support from the Department of Local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
As stated by 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."
As stated by 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."
