The shortlists for the WA Premier’s Book Awards have just been announced! It’s hard to believe a year has gone by since I found myself on the shortlist for the WA Writer’s Fellowship. Congratulations, everyone, and good luck!
The Premier’s Prize for an Emerging Writer ($15,000)
- Father of the Lost Boys by Yuot A. Alaak (Fremantle Press)
- Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs (Scribe Publications)
- A Question of Colour by Pattie Lees and Adam C. Lees (Magabala Books)
- We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know by Sophie McNeill (ABC Books: An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
- The Salt Madonna by Catherine Noske (Pan Macmillan Australia) *2, 2 and 2 interview with Kate
The Premier’s Prize for Writing for Children ($15,000)
- How to Make a Bird – Written by Meg McKinlay and Illustrated by Matt Ottley (Walker Books Australia)
- Littlelight by Kelly Canby (Fremantle Press)
- Shirley Purdie: My Story, Ngaginybe Jarragbe by Shirley Purdie (Magabala Books)
- Across The Risen Sea by Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin)
- Willy-willy Wagtail: Tales from the Bush Mob by Helen Milroy (Magabala Books)
The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and YA ($15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books)
- Home is Calling – Natasha Leslie
- Dirran – Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler
The Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship ($60,000)
- Amanda Bridgeman
- Donna Mazza *2, 2 and 2 interview with Donna
- Jon Doust *2, 2 and 2 interview with Jon
- Madelaine Dickie
- Sisonke Msimang
The full press release from the State Library of Western Australia here.
looking up/looking down 
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What a difficult choice for the fellowship! The only one I don’t know is Amanda Bridgeman but I see from Goodreads that she’s a very popular writer of SF and thrillers which have been optioned for the screen. There is so much talent in WA!
Yes, it’s a great list, and the other thing is that it just grazes the surface of the talent here. I’m sure there would have been many others who could have found a place on it.