WA Premier's Book Awards
Entries are now closed for the Premier's Prizes and Fellowship.
Entries for the 2023 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards closed at 5pm (WST) on 19 January 2023. The Daisy Utemorrah Award or Unpublished Indigenous Junior and YA Fiction, administered Magabala Books is open until 30 March 2023 - apply via their website.
The awards support, develop and recognise excellence in Western Australian writing. The State Library of Western Australia manages the Premier's Book Awards on behalf of the Government.
We are excited to announce a new category - The Premier's Prize for Book of the Year Award, sponsored by Writing WA. The new category celebrates books published or self-published in the calendar year of 2022. Open to Western Australian resident writers of any style or genre, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, history or young adult. The new category broadens the scope of the Awards allowing more Western Australian writers to be honoured and celebrated. Writing WA, the peak body for writers in Western Australia, will initially fund the new award for the next three years, with the State Library of Western Australia (SLWA) covering judging and other administrative costs.
The 2023 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards are now titled after the year the awards are presented instead of the year the books were published. The Writing for Children Award receives a minor facelift, in name only, altered to Children's Book of the Year to align with the new category and reflect the inclusion of illustrators. The Daisy Utemorrah Award is administered and funded by Broome-based Indigenous publisher Magabala Books with support from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
The Shortlists will be announced via the State Library's social media @statelibrarywa in May 2023. Winners will be announced at the State Library in June 2023. Receive the latest information by subscribing to the WA Premier's Book Awards eNewsletter. We only post a few times a year. Sign up at the bottom of this page.
The logo is based on an original illustration, "Constellation" by © Moira Court, from the enchanting children's book My Superhero written by Chris Owen (Fremantle Press), shortlisted in 2014 for Best Children's Book. Original illustrations from the book can be viewed on the State Library Catalogue (PWC/218).
What do a monster, a witch, an assassin, and an owl have in common? They are all on the shortlists for the 2023 WA Premier's Book Awards!
Entries are now closed for the Premier's Prizes and Fellowship. Entries closed at 5pm (WST) on 19 January 2023.
See 2023 categories, prizes and the Guidelines, Terms and Conditions.
Got questions? We have answers. Frequently asked questions about the 2023 WA Premier's Book Awards.
The EOI for Judging the Premier's Book Awards has now closed. Thank you to all who put in an expression of interest. We will be in touch soon.
Winners and Shortlists from previous years of the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards.