The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards 2025 shortlist has been announced, with First Nations writers Wayne Bergmann and Dr Tracy Westerman among the finalists.
The shortlisted works are in the running for $120,000 in total prizes with winners set to be announced in late August.
The State Library will be hosting a special event, Stories from the West, to explore a selection of the shortlisted books with their authors on Sunday, 27 July.
Mr Bergmann, a Kimberley businessperson and former CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, has been recognised for his memoir, co-written with Madelaine Dickie, 'Some People Want To Shoot Me'.
Part of the book examines his time at the KLC, where he took the reins as a 33 year-old.
"It was a roller-coaster ride, a pressure cooker… You were literally thrown out in the deep end, and it was sink or swim," the Nyikina man told National Indigenous Times.
'Jilya', by psychologist and Nyamal woman Dr Westerman, documents her journey from humble beginnings in the remote Pilbara to becoming the first Aboriginal person in Australia to complete a PhD in Clinical Psychology, rising to become one of the country's foremost psychologists.
The Shortlist
Emerging Writer
Down the Rabbit Hole by Shaeden Berry
Fragile Creatures: A Memoir by Khin Myint
Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill
The Skeleton House by Katherine Allum
The Moment of the Essay: Australian Letters and the Personal Essay by Daniel Juckes
Fiction Book of the Year
A Home in Her by Sarah Winifred Searle
Cutler by David Whish-Wilson
Death Holds the Key by Alexander Thorpe
Shadows of Winter Robins by Louise Wolhuter
Once by Annie Raser-Rowland
Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Anatomy of a Secret by Gerard McCann
How to Avoid a Happy Life by Julia Lawrinson
Some People Want to Shoot Me by Wayne Bergmann & Madelaine Dickie
In Hot Water: Inside the battle to save the Great Barrier Reef by Paul Hardisty
Jilya by Tracy Westerman
Poetry Book of the Year
Personal Logistics by Chris Palazzolo
Tossed Up by the Beak of a Cormorant by Nandi Chinna & Anne Poelina
G-d, Sleep, and Chaos by Alan Fyfe
Children's Book of the Year
A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby
Goodnight, Joeys by Renée Treml
The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble
When the World Was Soft by Juluwarlu Group with Alex Mankiewicz
Courage be my Friend by Jenny Davis
Young Adult Book of the Year
A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson
Liar's Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina
My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery
Trackers by Donna Hughes
Dreamwalker #1 by Scott Wilson & Molly Hunt with Chris Wood
Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and Young Adult Writing
Noble Intentions by Krista Dunstan
The Takeback Heist by Jannali Jones
Jax Paperweight and the Neon Starway by Beau Windon
The Daisy Utemorrah Award for Unpublished Indigenous Junior and YA Fiction is administered and funded by Magabala Books and open Australia-wide.
Note: Mr Bergmann is a co-owner of the National Indigenous Times.