Fremantle Press congratulates Nandi Chinna on winning a Western Australian Premier’s Prize
Nandi Chinna has won the Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship as part of the Western Australian Premier’s Prize.
The winners were announced at the State Library of Western Australia on 17 June 2022. At the ceremony, Western Australian writer Doris Pilkington Garimara AM was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame.
Fremantle Press CEO Jane Fraser congratulated all the writers who won. She said, ‘Awards and prizes for WA writers are essential and provide an important career boost for local storytellers. We commend the winners on their ability to entertain and challenge, to channel their empathy and to take the leap of faith needed to put their work out into the public sphere.’
Twelve Fremantle Press writers were shortlisted in the Awards across four categories. In the emerging writers category, the novels Eye of a Rook by Josephine Taylor and Locust Summer by David Allan-Petale, and the poetry collection Vociferate by Emily Sun, made the shortlist. In The Premier’s Prize for Writing for Children, Stellarphant by James Foley and Where do the Stars Go? by Katie Stewart both made the shortlist, alongside Fremantle Press creatives Cristy Burne and Shirley Marr (who eventually won in her category). And all five writers who were in the running for the $60,000 Writer’s Fellowship had been published by Fremantle Press.
The awards support, develop and recognise excellence in Western Australian writing. In a statement made on the WA Government media website, Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman said, ‘The Western Australian authors and illustrators have told incredible and spellbinding stories. There is something for everyone. We know that reading and books are so important for literacy development, which is why these awards celebrate children’s books in particular. I encourage you to pick up and read these incredible books.’
For information about the Awards, go to the State Library of Western Australia’s website at www.slwa.wa.gov.au