The State Library of Western Australia is proud to present the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Shortlist for 2025.
An independent judging panel of readers, writers, book sellers and story lovers have selected their top picks across six categories. Featuring graphic novels, cosy crime, high sea shenanigans and gothic coastal mysteries, the shortlist is a celebration of the breadth of talent in Western Australian storytelling.
Bookmark these titles for your ‘to be read’ pile.
Stories from the West
To help you get better acquainted with the shortlisted books, the State Library is hosting Stories from the West, a special event for readers on Sunday 27 July. Join us for an afternoon of panel conversations, book giveaways and a chance to meet the shortlisted authors.
Explore Bringing your Book to the World with the Emerging Writers, What Makes a Western Australian Story? with the Fiction shortlist and Two Truths and a Lie: Using Memoir to tell a Story with the Non-Fiction authors.
The Shortlist
Emerging Writer
- Down the Rabbit Hole by Shaeden Berry
- Fragile Creatures: A Memoir by Khin Myint
- Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill
- The Skeleton House by Katherine Allum
- The Moment of the Essay: Australian Letters and the Personal Essay by Daniel Juckes
Fiction Book of the Year
- A Home in Her by Sarah Winifred Searle
- Cutler by David Whish-Wilson
- Death Holds the Key by Alexander Thorpe
- Shadows of Winter Robins by Louise Wolhuter
- Once by Annie Raser-Rowland
Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- Anatomy of a Secret by Gerard McCann
- How to Avoid a Happy Life by Julia Lawrinson
- Some People Want to Shoot Me by Wayne Bergmann & Madelaine Dickie
- In Hot Water: Inside the battle to save the Great Barrier Reef by Paul Hardisty
- Jilya by Tracy Westerman
Poetry Book of the Year
- Personal Logistics by Chris Palazzolo
- Tossed Up by the Beak of a Cormorant by Nandi Chinna & Anne Poelina
- G-d, Sleep, and Chaos by Alan Fyfe
Children’s Book of the Year
- A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby
- Goodnight, Joeys by Renée Treml
- The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble
- When the World Was Soft by Juluwarlu Group with Alex Mankiewicz
- Courage be my Friend by Jenny Davis
Young Adult Book of the Year
- A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson
- Liar's Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina
- My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery
- Trackers by Donna Hughes
- Dreamwalker #1 by Scott Wilson & Molly Hunt with Chris Wood
Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Writing
- Noble Intentions by Krista Dunstan
- The Takeback Heist by Jannali Jones
- Jax Paperweight and the Neon Starway by Beau Windon
The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and YA Fiction is administered and funded by Magabala Books and open Australia-wide.
The winners of the awards, including Book of the Year sponsored by Writing WA, will be announced at a ceremony held at the State Library in late August.
Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors!
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