Supported by the Department of Culture and the Arts and The State Library of Western Australia and worth $110,000, the inaugural Australia-Asia Literary Award is the richest literary award in Australia and Asia.

This Award recognises the importance literature plays in our lives and demonstrates Western Australia’s significant role in Australia-Asian relations.

To be eligible for the Award works must have been written by an author who is a resident of Australia or Asia, or should be primarily set in an Australian or Asian country. Works must have been either written in, or translated into English and published in the preceding year.  

The winner will be announced by the Minister for Culture and the Arts the Hon John Day MLA at a gala awards ceremony on November 21 at Fraser’s Restaurant in Kings Park.

The recipient of the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Premier’s Prize will also be announced at this special event. The selected titles for this award were chosen from a short list of 28.  Works were awarded in the following categories: Non-Fiction; Fiction; Children’s Books; Poetry; Scripts; Young Adults; and History.

The Awards evening will include a keynote address from writer, broadcaster and film-maker Philip Adams AO.

Join the Minister for Culture and the Arts, Phillip Adams and the literary community for this truly memorable event.

Tickets are $95 and can be booked through BOCS Ticketing.  Call toll free 1800 193 300 or 08 94841133, or book online at http://www.bocsticketing.com.au/events/australia_asia_award.shtml

The Australia-Asia Literary Award short-listed works are:

• The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
• Blood Kin by Ceridwen Dovey
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
• Orpheus Lost by Janette Turner Hospital
• The Complete Stories by David Malouf

 The Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Premier’s Prize short-listed works are:

• Sir Ronald Wilson: A Matter of Conscience by Antonio Buti
• The Light River by Hal Colebatch
• The Black Balloon by Elissa Down and Jimmy the Exploder
• Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction by Ruth Marchant James
• Ziba came on a Boat by Liz Lofthouse and Robert Ingpen
• Other Country by Stephen Scourfield
• Love is a UFO by Ken Spillman