- Winners announced across eight categories and prizes at State's most prestigious literary awards
- First-time author Mabel Gibson takes home 2026 Book of the Year for debut work CryBaby
- $120,000 prize pool recognises excellence in Western Australian storytelling
- Cook Labor Government fostering a vibrant and creative economy
CryBaby by Mabel Gibson has been named Book of the Year at the 2026 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, taking out the State's highest literary honour.
The 27-year-old Yamatji writer's debut micro memoir was described by judges as 'heartbreaking and sumptuous'.
The night was bookended by Yamatji women with the induction of Dr Charmaine Papertalk Green Smith into the Western Australian Writers Hall of Fame and the renaming of the poetry category in the Premier's Book Awards in honour of the late poet, writer and community leader.
Following a rigorous judging process involving writers, industry professionals and readers from across Australia, the winners are:
- Book of the Year and Emerging Writer of the Year- CryBabyby Mabel Gibson(Night Parrot Press)
- Children's Book of the Year-Creature Clinicby Gavin Aung Than (Figment, an imprint of Hardie Grant)
- Young Adult Book of the Year - A Murder is Going Downby Kate Emery (Allen & Unwin)
- Fiction Book of the Year -O'Keefeby David Whish-Wilson(Fremantle Press)
- Non-Fiction Book of the Year - Tjukurrpa Kurranyu. Tjukurrpa in the Front: The Yarnangu Foundation for Joint Management in the Pila Nature Reserveby Jan Turner and Dr Lizzie Marrkilyi Giles Ellis (Warnpurru Aboriginal Corporation)
- Dr Charmaine Papertalk Green Smith Poetry Prize -Past & Parallel Livesby Kaya Ortiz (UWA Publishing)
- The Daisy Utemorrah Award, sponsored by Magabala Books - Barefoot Running(unpublished manuscript) by Amanda Lott.
The annual awards support, develop and recognise excellence in Western Australian writing.
Visit the State Library's website www.slwa.wa.gov.au/premiersbookawards to discover more about the award winners.
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"Congratulationsto the 2026 Premier's Book Awards winners whose work represents the best of contemporary Western Australian writing.
"The Awards position established authors alongside outstanding new talents, showcasing the evolving legacy of Western Australia's creative community.
"Western Australia's creative industries are culturally and economically significant to this State and it is important to celebrate the Western Australian authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers and libraries who work year-round to strengthen our thriving creative sector."
As stated by Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk:
"I'm thrilled to congratulate and celebrate the winners and finalists of the 2026 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards.
"The Cook Labor Government continues to invest in initiatives that nurture creative talent and create opportunities for writers at every stage of their careers.
"Western Australia is home to generations of extraordinary storytellers whose work enriches our State, including Dr Charmaine Papertalk Green Smith, whose induction into the WA Writers Hall of Fame acknowledges her enduring contribution to Western Australian writing and to our community more broadly."
