Western Australian Premier's Book Awards

The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards (PBA) is an award for books, scripts, digital narrative and a People's Choice. Awards are provided by the Government of Western Australia, and the awards process is managed by the State Library of Western Australia. Awards are given in fiction, poetry, non-fiction, Western Australian History, children's book, writing for Young Adults, scripts and digital narrative. An overall winner is awarded the Premier's Prize.

The title of the award refers to the year of publication, rather than the year in which the awards were announced. So, the 2011 awards were announced in 2012, for works published in 2011.

The Award includes prize amounts as follows: $15,000 for Fiction, Non-fiction and Children's Books. $10,000 for Young Adults, WA History, Poetry and Scripts. $5,000 for People's Choice and Digital Narrative. The Premier's Prize carries prize money of $25,000.

In 2015, the state government downgraded the awards from an annual event to biannual, to the disappointment of the WA arts sector.^[1]

In 2018 and 2019 only four categories were open to entries – the Western Australian Writer's Fellowship (valued at $60,000), the Premier's Prize for Writing for Children ($15,000), the Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer ($15,000) and the Daisy Utemorrah Award for Indigenous Authors ($15,000 and publishing contract with Magabala Books).^[2][3]

2020 winners[]

The 2020 winners were announced at the State Library of Western Australian on 25 August 2021.^[4]

• Western Australian Writer's Fellowship: Sisonke Msimang
• Premier's Prize for Writing for Children: How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Matt Ottley
• Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer: Fathoms: The world in the whale by Rebecca Giggs
• Daisy Utemorrah Award for Indigenous Authors: "Dirran" by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler

2019 winners[]

The 2019 winners were announced at the State Library of Western Australian on 7 August 2020.^[3]

• Western Australian Writer's Fellowship: Amanda Curtin
• Premier's Prize for Writing for Children: Catch a Falling Star by Meg McKinlay
• Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer: Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard
• Daisy Utemorrah Award for Indigenous Authors: Our Matriarchs by Teela May Reid

2018 winners[]

The 2018 winners were announced on 26 July 2019.^[5]

• Western Australian Writer's Fellowship: A.J. Betts
• Premier's Prize for Writing for Children: The Hole Story by Kelly Canby
• Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer: The Sky Runs Right Through Us by Reneé Pettitt-Schipp
• Daisy Utemorrah Award for Indigenous Authors: Mother Speaks by Kirli Saunders

2016 winners[]

The 2016 winners were announced on 3 October 2016. The Premier's Prize went to This House of Grief by Helen Garner.^[6]

• Fiction: The Golden Age by Joan London
• Non-fiction: This House of Grief by Helen Garner
• Children's Books: The Duck and the Darklings by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Stephen Michael King
• Poetry: The Guardians by Lucy Dougan
• Western Australian History: Running Out? Water in WA by Ruth A. Morgan
• Young Adult: The Protected by Claire Zorn
• Western Australian Emerging Writers Award: Lost and Found by Brooke Davis
• Scripts: Dust by Suzie Miller
• Digital Narrative: Timelord Dreaming by David P. Reiter
• People's Choice Award: Fever of Animals by Miles Allinson

2014 winners[]

The 2014 winners were announced on 22 September 2014.^[7] The overall winner was Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

• Fiction: Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North
• People's Choice: Tim Winton, Eyrie
• Poetry: Paul Hetherington, Six Different Windows
• Non-fiction: Kristina Olsson, Boy, Lost: A Family Memoir
• Western Australian History: Margaret Simons, Kerry Stokes: Self-Made Man
• Children's book:(tie) Dianne Wolfer & Brian Simmonds, Light Horse Boy and Jan Ormerod & Andrew Joyner, The Swap
• Writing for Young Adults: Alyssa Brugman, Alex as Well
• Script: Van Badham, The Bull, the Moon and the Coronet of Stars
• Digital Narrative: Christy Dena, AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS
• Emerging Writer's Award: Yvette Walker, Letters to the End of Love

2012 winners[]

The 2012 winners were announced on 16 September 2013.^[8] The overall winner was Michelle de Kretser's Questions of Travel.

• Fiction: Michelle de Kretser, Questions of Travel
• People's Choice: Deborah Forster, The Meaning of Grace
• Poetry: Robert Gray, Cumulus
• Non-fiction: Roger Averill, Exile: The Lives and Hopes of Werner Pelz
• Western Australian History: Aboriginal Studies Press, Kurlumarniny: We come from the Desert
• Children's book:(tie) Stephen Herrick, Pookie Aleera Is Not My Boyfriend & Peter Macinnis, Australian Backyard Naturalist
• Writing for Young Adults: Margo Lanagan, Sea Hearts
• Script: Ingle Knight, The Fremantle Candidate
• Digital Narrative: David Reiter, My Planets Reunion Memoir

2011 winners[]

The 2011 winners were announced on 17 September 2012.^[9] The overall winner was Fiona Skyring's Justice: A History of the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ISBN 978-1921401633)

• Fiction: Anna Funder, All That I Am
• People's Choice: Anna Funder, All That I Am
• Poetry: Tracy Ryan, The Argument
• Non-fiction: Alice Pung, Her Father's Daughter
• Western Australian History: , Justice: A History of the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia
• Children's book: Michelle Gillespie & Sonia Martinez, Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck
• Writing for Young Adults: Penni Russon, Only Ever Always
• Script: Tim Winton & Ellen Fontana, Cloudstreet: The Screenplay
• Digital Narrative: Max Barry, Machine Man

2010 winners[]

The 2010 winners were announced on 30 September 2011.^[10] The overall winner was Kim Scott's That Deadman Dance

• Fiction: Kim Scott, That Deadman Dance
• People's Choice: , Utopian Man
• Poetry: Mark Tredinnick, Fire Diary
• Non-fiction: , The Historian: W K Hancock
• Western Australian History: , Vite Italiane, Italian Lives in Western Australia
• Children's book: Sally Murphy & , Toppling
• Writing for Young Adults: Scot Gardner, Happy as Larry and James Roy, Anonymity Jones
• Script: Tommy Murphy, Gwen in Purgatory
• Digital Narrative: , The Garden

2009 winners[]

The 2008 & 2009 winners were announced September 2010.^[11] The overall winner was Shirley Barrett's South Solitary.

• Fiction:
  • Craig Silvey, Jasper Jones
  • J. M. Coetzee, Summertime
• Poetry: , Fire Season
• Non-fiction: Iain McCalman, Darwin's Armada
• Western Australian History: , Paupers, Poor Relief & Poor Houses
• Children's book: Margaret Wild & Freya Blackwood, Harry & Hopper
• Writing for Young Adults: Justine Larbalestier, Liar
• Script: Shirley Barrett, South Solitary

2008 winners[]

The 2008 & 2009 winners were announced September 2010.^[11] The overall winner was Chloe Hooper's The Tall Man.

• Fiction: Richard Flanagan, Wanting
• Poetry: Bronwyn Lea, The Other Way Out
• Non-fiction: Chloe Hooper, The Tall Man
• Western Australian History: , Doing Life: A biography of Elizabeth Jolley
• Children's book: Bob Graham, How to Heal a Broken Wing
• Writing for Young Adults: Shaun Tan, Tales from Outer Suburbia
• Script: , The Modern International Dead

2007 winners[]

The winners were announced in 2008.^[12] The overall winner was Liz Lofthouse and Robert Ingpen's Ziba Came on a Boat.

• Fiction: , Other Country (Allen & Unwin)
• Poetry: Hal Colebatch, The Light River (Connor Court Publishing)
• History Section: , Bobbie Oliver and Patrick Bertola, The History of the Westrail Midland Railway Workshops (University of Western Australia Press)
• Non-fiction: Antonio Buti, Sir Ronald Wilson: A Matter of Conscience (University of Western Australia Press)
• Western Australian History: , Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction (Town of Cottesloe)
• Children's book: and Robert Ingpen, Ziba Came on a Boat (Viking Books)
• Writing for Young Adults: Ken Spillman, Love is a UFO (Pan Macmillan Australia)
• Script: Elissa Down and Jimmy the Exploder, The Black Balloon (Black Balloon Film Productions)

2006 winners[]

The overall winner was Shaun Tan's The Arrival.

• Fiction: Simone Lazaroo, The Travel Writer (Pan Macmillan Australia)
• Poetry: Dennis Haskell, All the Time in the World (Salt Publishing)
• Non-fiction:
  • , Rob Riley: an Aboriginal Leader's Quest for Justice (Aboriginal Studies Press)
  • Peter Edwards, Arthur Tange: Last of the Mandarins (Allen & Unwin)
• Western Australian History: Bobbie Oliver and , The Workshops: A History of the Midland Government Railway Workshops (University of Western Australia Press)
• Children's book: Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Hachette Livre Australia)
• Writing for Young Adults: Destroying Avalon (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Script: , Sardines (Tropic Sun Theatre Queensland)

2005 winners[]

The overall winner was Davenport etc.. Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert

• Fiction: Carrie Tiffany, Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living (Picador)
• Poetry: Rod Moran, The Paradoxes of Water: Selected and New Poems, 1970-2005 (Salt Publishing)
• Non-fiction:
  • , Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship 1915-1945 (Allen Lane/Penguin)
  • Philippa Nikulinsky and Stephen D Hopper, Soul of the Desert (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Western Australian History: , and , Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert (Aboriginal Studies Press)
• Children's book: , Where's Stripey? (Stunned Emu Press)
• Writing for Young Adults: Kirsty Murray, A Prayer for Blue Delaney (Allen & Unwin)
• Script: Reg Cribb, Last Train to Freo (Sue Taylor Media)

2004 winners[]

The overall winner was Gail Jones' Sixty Lights

• Fiction: Gail Jones, Sixty Lights (Random House Australia)
• Poetry: , Against Certain Capture (Five Islands Press)
• Non-fiction:
  • Greg Craven, Conversations with the Constitution (University of New South Wales)
  • , Redbill: From Pearls to Peace - The Life and Times of a Remarkable Lugger (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Western Australian History: , Behind the Play (West Australian Football Commission)
• Children's book: and , A Home for Bilby (Magabala Books)
• Writing for Young Adults: Anthony Eaton, Fireshadow (University of Queensland)
• Script: , Yandy (Black Swan Theatre Company)

2003 winners[]

The overall winner was Reg Cribb's Last Cab to Darwin

• Fiction: The Mindless Ferocity of Sharks (Vintage)
• Poetry: John Kinsella Peripheral Light (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Non-fiction:
  • John Dowson Old Fremantle (University of Western Australia)
  • Shadow Lines (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Children's book: Mark Greenwood The Legend of Lasseter's Reef (Cygnet/University of Western Australia)
• Writing for Young Adults: Colin Bowles Nights in the Sun (Penguin)
• Script: Reg Cribb Last Cab to Darwin (Pork Chop Productions/Black Swan Theatre Company)

2002 winners[]

The overall winner was Richard Bosworth's Mussolini

• Fiction: Gail Jones Black Mirror (Picador)
• Poetry: Going Feral (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Non-fiction:
  • Mussolini (Edward Arnold)
  • Walmajarri storytellers, ed. , & Out of the Desert: Stories from the Walmajarri Exodus (Magabala Books)
• Children's book: Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac The Legend of Moondyne Joe (Cygnet/University of Western Australia)
• Writing for Young Adults: Feeling the Heat (Penguin)
• Script: Bench

2001 winners[]

The overall winner was Tim Winton's Dirt Music

• Fiction: Tim Winton Dirt Music (Picador)
• Poetry: Dorothy Hewett Halfway up the Mountain (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Non-fiction:
  • The White Divers of Broome (Macmillan)
  • Blue China: Single Female Migration to Colonial Australia (Melbourne University)
• Children's book: The Yankee Whaler (Scholastic)
• Writing for Young Adults: Obsession (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Script: Sally Riley & Archie Weller Confessions of a Headhunter

2000 winners[]

The overall winner was Michèle Drouart's Into the Wadi

• Fiction: Simone Lazaroo The Australian Fiancé (Pan Macmillan)
• Poetry: Mark Reid Parochial (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Non-fiction:
  • Into the Wadi (Fremantle Arts Centre)
  • Robert Drewe The Shark Net: Memories and Murder (Viking)
• Children's book: Kirsty Murray Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish (Allen & Unwin)
• Writing for Young Adults: Anthony Eaton The Darkness (University of Queensland)

1999 winners[]

The overall winner was Kim Scott's Benang: From the Heart

• Fiction: Kim Scott Benang: From the Heart (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Poetry: Tracy Ryan The Willing Eye (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Historical & Critical Studies: Estelle Blackburn Broken Lives (Stellar Publishing)
• Children's book: Reg Bolton Showtime: Over 75 Ways to Put on a Show (Dorling Kindersley)
• Writing for Young Adults: Glyn Parry Scooterboy (Hodder Headline)
• Special Award: , Larry Mitchell & Alison Wright Abrolhos Islands Conversations (Fremantle Arts Centre)

1998 winners[]

• Overall: Pomegranate Season (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Fiction: Going Inland (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Poetry: (joint winners)

John Kinsella The Hunt (Fremantle Arts Centre)

Fay Zwicky The Gatekeeper's Wife (Brandl & Schlesinger)

• Historical & Critical Studies: & Our State of Mind: Racial Planning and the Stolen Generations (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Children's book: & Jimmy Pike Desert Dog (Magabala Books)
• Writing for Young Adults: Red Hugh (Lothian)
• Script Award: Milk and Honey (Perth Theatre Company)

1997 winners[]

• Overall: (joint winners)

Robert Drewe The Drowner (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Gail Jones Fetish Lives (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)

• Fiction: (joint winners)

Robert Drewe The Drowner (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Gail Jones Fetish Lives (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)

• Poetry: The Wheels of Hama: Collected War Poems (Victor Publishing)
• Historical & Critical Studies: Phillip Playford Carpet of Silver: the Wreck of the Zuytdorp (University of WA Press)
• Children & Young Adult's Books: A Place of Safety (Mammoth (Reed Books))
• Special Award: Songs of Strength: Sixteen Women Talk About Cancer (Women's Cancer Group (Macmillan))
• Script Award: and Andrew Ross Merry-Go-Round-In -the Sea (Black Swan Theatre)

1996 winners[]

• Overall: & Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance (Magabala Books)
• Fiction: (joint winners)

The Lighthouse Spark (Fremantle Arts Centre)

Dave Warner City of Light (Fremantle Arts Centre)

• Poetry: Dorothy Hewett Collected Poems (Fremantle Arts Centre)
• Historical & Critical Studies: and Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance (Magabala Books)
• Children & Young Adult's Books: Helen Bell Idjhil (University of Western Australia Press)
• Special Award: The Kimberley - A journey through Northwest Australia (CIS Cardigan Street Publishers)
• Script Award: Culture Clash (Rosenbaum Whitbread)

1995 winners[]

• Premier's Prize: Radical Take-offs by Glyn Parry (Allen & Unwin)
• Fiction: The World Waiting to be Made by Simone Lazaroo (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Poetry: Sandstone by Andrew Taylor (University of Queensland Press)
• Historical & Critical Studies: Searching for the Snowy by George Seddon (Allen & Unwin)
• Children's & Young Adult's Books: Radical Take-offs by Glyn Parry (Allen & Unwin)
• Special Award: Plants of the Perth Coast and Islands by Elizabeth Rippey and Barbara Rowland (University of WA Press)
• Script: Whispering Demons by Heather Nimmo (Perth Theatre Company)

1994 winners[]

• Premier's Prize: Peninsula - Dorothy Hewett (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Fiction: Letter to Constantine - Joan London (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Poetry: Peninsula - Dorothy Hewett (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Historical & Critical Studies: Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia - David Horton (Aboriginal Studies Press)
• Children's Books: Rosa's Famous Elbow - Mike Lefroy & Peter Kendall (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Special Award: Summer Shorts - Peter Holland (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)
• Script: Meekatharra - Lois Achimovich (Black Swan Theatre Company)

References[]

External links[]

• Official website