Fremantle Press Authors Celebrate Wins at WA Literary Awards

Fremantle Press congratulates Kelly Canby and Gerard McCann, winners of a WA Premier’s Book Award.

Kelly Canby’s A Leaf Called Greaf won Children’s Book of the Year and Gerard McCann’s Anatomy of a Secret won Non-Fiction Book of the Year.

The winners of the 2025 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards were announced this evening at the State Library of Western Australia, sharing a prize pool of $120,000.

When accepting the award, Kelly said she felt teary and touched. She later said the shortlisting was already a wonderful thing but that the win was the icing on the cake.

Gerard McCann said he was overwhelmed that the WA writing community would value his book and its contentious content.

Though he couldn’t be there on the night, in his statement Premier Roger Cook congratulated the winners and said their work demonstrated the power of storytelling to reflect, challenge and enrich our understanding of the world. 

A Leaf Called Greaf is an affirmation of love and a powerful evocation of the complex feelings we experience after a loss. Beautifully illustrated, this resonant and important picture book invites children to learn how to live with sadness.

Anatomy of a Secret: One Man’s Search for Justice is a raw and compelling memoir that reveals long-silenced, unspoken truths. In documenting his abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest, Gerard’s book ultimately underlines the healing that can come from a story shared.

The annual awards, administered and hosted by the State Library, honour the creativity and achievements of authors, illustrators and publishers who tell the stories of Western Australia.