Category: News

Welcome to the Great Big Book Club, Fremantle Press’ regular cosy nights out for people who love stories. Join us in bookshops and libraries across Perth for bookish conversations with emerging and established authors. Browse the program below. The Names of a Hare by Bernice Barry 17th-century Cornwall is a place of peril for a […]

Prema Arasu, author of new poetry collection Vampire Squid, is the inaugural recipient of a new travel fund aimed at giving debut Western Australian writers the opportunity to promote their work outside the state. The sponsorship, funded by the Forrest Research Foundation, supports the work of one new or emerging Western Australian writer each year, […]

The Hungerford Award is celebrating 35 years of unearthing Western Australian stories and championing new literary voices. Sponsors Fremantle Press, City of Fremantle and Centre for Stories are looking for the next great storyteller seeking a big break – with $15,000 cash, a publishing contract, and a writing fellowship up for grabs. The biennial Hungerford […]

Winner of the 2024 Hungerford Award, Trials of Hope (የተስፋ ፈተና)is a groundbreaking bilingual memoir that challenges how we think about belonging and language. Author Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes weaves together poetry and prose, Amharic and English, to create a deeply moving account of Ethiopian heritage and displacement. In this interview, Yirga discusses the craft behind […]

Brigid Lowry’s A Time of Living Graciously is a gentle, unflinching look at ageing, dying and what it means to live mindfully through it all – both a conversation starter and a source of comfort. Brigid shares her thoughts on writing through the heavy topics, and the importance of humour. Listen to a conversation between […]

During their postdoctoral fellowship at the UWA-Minderoo Deep-Sea Research Centre, author Prema Arasu explored the deep sea through the perspectives of scientists who each relate to it differently – be they oceanographer, geoscientist, taxonomist, marine biologist, geneticist or the creative writer–observer. In this interview, Prema dives deeper into the work, and puts the scientists who […]

Fremantle Press is aware of the charges of child exploitation which were brought against Craig Silvey this week. The alleged offences are shocking and abhorrent, and we acknowledge survivors of child exploitation and their families.  In a tight-knit community, this news affects our authors, industry colleagues, bookstores, schools and readers. Fremantle Press is available to its […]

This post by Commissioning Editor Wendy Jenkins was originally published in 2011. We’re republishing it now as we celebrate the release of a beautiful new edition of A Fortunate Life in 2026, marking the 50th anniversary of Fremantle Press and 45 years since this remarkable memoir first captivated readers around the world. Fremantle Press has […]

Saved from the brink of destruction by community effort, the Eungedup wetlands between Albany and Denmark become the centre of healing in Giles Watson’s latest work, Eungedup. Poet and researcher Nandi Chinna reflects on how Giles Watson’s attention to the nature around him is returned tenfold. In search of a ‘Place that is open to […]

In November 2025, author Deb Fitzpatrick took part in the exciting Sydney Writers Festival. As well as delivering workshops to students, Deb hitched a ride in a very special vehicle … I’d heard about Russ the Story Bus – a magical bus that visits Greater Western Sydney primary schools every year in Term 4 and […]

Ask any writer about what inspires them and a life-long love of reading is most often mentioned. For Giles Watson, author of Eungedup: A wetland summer diary, the spark of nature writing came from the books of his childhood – from a worn copy of Watership Down to the radical poetry of Emily Dickinson. Here, […]

It is with sadness that we acknowledge award-winning local artist and beloved member of the extended Fremantle Press team, Brian Simmonds, who passed away in early December 2025. Brian was well known for his talent and his hard work, and also for his kindness and generosity. Born in Subiaco, Brian worked as a lithographer in […]

The Stan television series based on Holden Sheppard’s book Invisible Boys has been nominated for two Australian Academy of Cinema Television Arts (AACTA) Awards – for Best Miniseries and Best Editing in Television for episode 9. Filmed in Perth and Geraldton, Invisible Boys is an emotional tale of individuality and belonging. Written for the screen by a […]

Australia’s independent booksellers have nominated Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder by Tim Winton and Cindy Lane as one of their favourite children’s books of 2026. Leanne Kadaraneu, Head of Books at Leading Edge Retail, said she was thrilled to reveal the longlist, which was chosen by the professionals whose recommendations guided readers every day, ‘This year’s longlist […]

Fremantle Press is set to celebrate in its new building 50 years of sharing important Western Australian stories. The organisation is moving ahead with confidence after securing a Lotterywest grant worth $722,226 for the fit-out of the historic SEC Substation at 10 Parry Street, Fremantle. This grant takes the Press to within half a million dollars of its total fundraising goal.  Fremantle Press Chair Clair Medhurst said she was elated […]

Aimee Harrison has joined Fremantle Press as the marketing and communications assistant, commencing on 1 December 2025. Working four days a week while completing her studies, Aimee will provide essential support in author care, PR campaigns and event management. Adam Matthews will be finishing his role as Fremantle Press Publicist at the end of November. […]

Bigfoot vs Yeti by James Foley has been shortlisted for the 2025 Children’s Peace Literature Award. This biennial prize is awarded to Australian authors for children’s books that encourage peaceful resolution of conflict or promote peace at the global, local or interpersonal level. Administered by Psychologists for Peace (SA), over 100 books were judged by […]

Eradu           in memory of ‘CPG’ 1. It’s not what’s writtenon a sign to mark where a town was.And it’s not the railway gleaming, or the bridgethat carries it over the river. It’s not the vast acreageunder crop nor the twisted metal uprights of a forgottentennis court. Nor, across the line, the single mandarintree with […]

Edited by Casey Mulder and curated by Kim Scott, Rivers Flow: A Reflection on the Songs of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter brings 23 First Nations writers together to honour the musical and cultural legacy of Archie Roach – a Gunditjmara, Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung and Bundjalung man – and Ruby Hunter – a Ngarrindjeri, Kokatha […]

Devastating earthquakes, floods and landslides … and now a killer on the loose. Franz Josef, a tiny South Island of New Zealand town, is the setting of Alan Carter’s latest crime novel and the third instalment of the Nick Chester series. Below, Alan chats to us about the making of this thrilling new novel. Why did […]

Fremantle Press congratulates Ebony Froome and Leanne Zilm who have won a Whitley Award in the category of Children’s Cultural Zoology for Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons. Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder illustrator Cindy Lane was also recognised, taking out best illustrator. Ebony said Djinang Bonar was the first publication of its kind because of the way […]

Fremantle Press is pleased to announce that Dr Libby Jackson-Barrett and Ben Paganoni have joined our board, bringing the total number of members to nine. This is a strategic decision designed to consolidate and diversify the already strong leadership team in readiness for the Press’s 50th anniversary.  Chair Clair Medhurst said the pair have joined […]

Chemutai Glasheen, Marcella Polain and Richard Rossiter are the 2026 Hungerford Award judges. Alongside Fremantle Press publishers Georgia Richter and Cate Sutherland, they will be responsible for choosing who will win the $15,000 prize money from the City of Fremantle, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press, and a Centre for Stories Fellowship. The biennial Hungerford Award is […]