Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
Brief ministerial statement
Ms Simone McGurk (Fremantle—Minister for Creative Industries) (1:07 pm): Storytelling has long been a central part of Western Australia's cultural identity. Administered and hosted by the State Library of Western Australia, the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards are held annually to honour the creativity and achievements of the authors, illustrators and publishers who tell our stories. The winners of this year's awards were announced on Friday 29 August at the State Library. As the home of WA storytelling, the State Library has inspired and enabled readers and writers of all ages for more than 100 years, and it was a fitting venue to celebrate the best of WA writers.
This year saw the biggest shortlist in nearly a decade, including three graphic novels and six Aboriginal-authored works, and the awards had dedicated categories for young adult, poetry, fiction and nonfiction. The winners shared a prize pool of $120,000. The winner of Book of the Year, sponsored by Writing WA, was G-d, Sleep, and Chaos by Alan Fyfe, Mr Fyfe's debut poetry collection also won Poetry Book of the Year, with the judging panel describing the book as bold, fearless and purposeful. I have been working my way through the shortlist and the winning books, and I can attest to the quality of the entries.
In addition to Mr Fyfe's awards, I would like to acknowledge the other winners as follows. The Children's Book of the Year was A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby, published by Fremantle Press. The Young Adult Book of the Year was My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery, published by Allen & Unwin. The Non-fiction Book of the Year was Anatomy of a Secret: One Man's Search for Justice by Gerard McCann, published by Fremantle Press. The Fiction Book of the Year was Shadows of WinterRobins by Louise Wolhuter, published by Ultimo Press. The Premier's Book Award for an Emerging Writer went to Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill, published by UWA Publishing. The Daisy Utemorrah Award for unpublished Indigenous junior and young adult writing was won by Beau Windon for Jax Paperweight and the Neon Starway.
These awards truly are made in WA and the government is proud to recognise the writers, illustrators and publishers telling our stories. I encourage people to head to their local bookstore and acquire some of these incredible titles.
