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In this podcast Fiona Wilkes, who, unusually, doesn’t have a writing mentor, isn’t doing a creative writing degree and isn’t a member of a writing group, talks about how she wanted to challenge depictions of queer stories. Fiona says, ‘Honestly, part of the drive to write this novel was a dissatisfaction at the way queer […]

Year 6 student Julian Henningsgaard won the Phillip Pendal Young Heritage Award for his essay Words From the Past, which shares the serendipitous connection between T.A.G. Hungerford and the MillPoint Caffé Bookshop. We are delighted to publish the essay for you to enjoy, too.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, the Wilderness Society has partnered with The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne to host an exhibition of select illustrations from books shortlisted for the award over the past three decades – including works by much-loved author-illustrators Alison Lester, Sami Bayly, Oliver Jeffers, Renee Treml […]

Jodie Tes is one of four writers shortlisted for the 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and in the running to win a $15,000 cash prize from the City of Fremantle, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press and a writing fellowship at the Centre for Stories. This is the second time the Hilton-based author has […]

Howard McKenzie-Murray says his main character was inspired by a road trip, Huckleberry Finn and his own sister. He says, ‘Far From Wonderful is somewhere between a coming-of-age and a journey-home story set in Perth and narrated by 21-year-old med student Maud Tarkington. Maud brings you with her through a 24-hour period spanning her 21st birthday and her […]

Kathryn Lefroy might be a fantasy writer for children, but there’s nothing fantastical about her connection to Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy. Her great-great-great-great-great uncle was Jane Austen’s inspiration for Mr Darcy, one of world’s most lusted after characters – both on the page and on screen.  Given the iconic literary connection, teamed with the fact that she […]

Crime writer Alan Carter‘s latest release, Prize Catch, was inspired by living in close proximity to Tasmania’s controversial salmon farms. In this article, Alan dives deeper into how the landscape around him inspires his best-selling crime novels. How much does the place where you live inspire you when coming up with crime ideas? From the […]

Dave Warner‘s Broome detective Dan Clement is back in When It Rains, investigating crime as plentiful as wet season rain. In this article, Dave takes us behind the scenes of his award-winning crime writing procedure. What is it like to work with a protagonist over a number of books? Do you think about Clement between […]

Fiona Wilkes is one of four writers shortlisted for the 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and in the running to win a $15,000 cash prize from the City of Fremantle, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press and a writing fellowship at the Centre for Stories. Her desire to balance out the narrative around queer […]

Barking Gecko Theatre and Fremantle Press are proud to announce the release of a new picture book to coincide with the return of HOUSE. This captivating work by playwright Dan Giovannoni and Barking Gecko Theatre’s former artistic director Luke Kerridge premiered in 2021 at the Perth Festival and has since delighted audiences across Western Australia. […]

Howard McKenzie-Murray is one of four writers shortlisted for the 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and in the running to win a $15,000 cash prize from the City of Fremantle, a publishing contract with Fremantle Press and a writing fellowship at the Centre for Stories. We asked Howard to tell us more about his […]

In this podcast you get to hear the voice of Screech, Jodie Tes’ titular character. What might surprise you is that Screech is a sulphur-crested cockatoo. Jodie says, ‘I was on a morning walk, listening to Radio National, when an interview with a hilarious and passionate wildlife ecologist sparked the idea for Screech. She was […]

Four Western Australian writers are shortlisted and in the running for the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award. Judged anonymously, the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award is a biennial prize awarded for an unpublished manuscript by a Western Australian author for a work of fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction. The winner receives a cash […]

David Whish-Wilson, Alan Carter and Dave Warner premiered their latest crime novels as part of an online panel hosted by Cheryl Akle from Better Reading on Thursday 12 September. When It Rains begins with a hand tied to a post in the crocodile-infested waters of Broome, Western Australia. Dave Warner said, ‘With my crime novels … […]

Sienna Rose Scully is the youngest of four children. She is an Integrated Marketing Communications graduate who grew up in Noongar Whadjuk Boodja (Fremantle), Western Australia. Sienna has dealt with OCD since childhood and is passionate about bringing awareness to what this disorder entails and to help other OCD sufferers. She is a contributor to […]

When launching A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson and Jasper Cliff by Josh Kemp, Annie Fogarty AM took the opportunity to announce a substantial uplift in funding for the State’s premier young writer’s award. Inaugurated in 2019, the Fogarty Literary Award for young Western Australian writers quickly established itself as a major supporter of […]

Josh Kemp, author of Australian gothic fiction, will be touring his latest novel, Jasper Cliff, at a WA library near you. Josh says he is attracted to writing Gothic fiction as a mode of storytelling that explores the legacy and trauma of colonisation. ‘Australian Gothic is an incredibly diverse mode of fiction that emerged during the […]

Launched this month, Karleah Olson’s A Wreck of Seabirds was shortlisted for the Fogarty Literary Award. It was described by the judges as a tightly written, atmospheric novel that captured the depths of human emotion. In this interview she tells us more about her journey to publication. Why did you choose a coastal setting for […]

A Leaf Called Greaf, illustrated and designed by Kelly Canby was named runner up in the Best Published Book Cover Design Award in the Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards this weekend. The Whitsundays Festival launched the Literary Heart Awards earlier this year, offering cash prizes to recognise and honour outstanding contributions to the literary and design landscape. In […]

Josh Kemp’s debut novel Banjawarn won the 2021 Dorothy Hewett Award and the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction. In his new thriller, Jasper Cliff, which was shortlisted for the Fogarty Literary Award, he deliberately leaned in to the spookier side of Australian gothic, imbuing his narrative with disturbing insights into the […]

Bianca Breen has joined Fremantle Press as a Digital Publicist, undertaking a contract for maternity leave cover for the next six months. The new role will focus on marketing across all digital channels; coordinating social media marketing, the website and edirectmail campaigns as well as helping implement online promotions with partner organisations and distributors. Head […]

Nedingar: Ancestors by Isobel Bevis and Leanne Zilm has been recognised for a third time in this year’s awards season. The dual language picture book has already been shortlisted for an Environment Award by the Wilderness Society and has been made a CBCA Notable Book. Now it is in the running for Speech Pathology Australia’s […]

A Leaf Called Greaf, illustrated and designed by Kelly Canby, and I Am the Mau, designed by Rebecca Mills, have been shortlisted for the Best Published Book Cover Design Award in the Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards. Overall, just four submissions were selected for the shortlist and are in the running for the first prize of $1,500 and $500 […]