The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award given out by the Government of Western Australia. It is run by the State Library of Western Australia.

History and format

In 1982, the Western Australian Government started annual literary awards to recognize the work of writers from Western Australia. Before 1990, these awards were known as the WA Week Literary Awards. The name of the award refers to the year a book was published, not the year the awards were announced. For example, the 2011 awards honored books published in 2011, which were announced in 2012. This changed in 2023, when the award year matched the year the awards were announced.

The awards included categories such as poetry, non-fiction, fiction, Western Australian history, children's books, young adult fiction, scripts, and digital narratives. A Premier's Prize was also given to the overall winner.

In 2012, the Barnett government changed the awards from an annual event to one held every two years, which upset many in the Western Australian arts community.

In 2018, the McGowan government brought back the annual format. At that time, four categories were recognized: the Western Australian Writer's Fellowship (worth $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 a publishing contract with Magabala Books). A fifth category, the Premier's Prize for Book of the Year ($15,000), was added in 2023.

Some people have asked for the awards to include categories for experienced poets and non-fiction writers, as these are not currently available.

In 2025, four new categories were introduced for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult writing. Additionally, a Book of the Year award will be selected from the winners of these categories.