UWA Publishing

16/09/2025

12/09/2025

12/09/2025

We're so excited to have another brilliant Friday First Chapters episode for you – our infrequent series in which fantastic Australian authors read the first chapter (or two) of their latest novels is proving quite frequent at present, which is a bonus all round!

This week, Lora Inak reads from 'Elif's Itchy Palm', the first book in her new junior fiction series THE COCKATOO CREW, illustrated by Kruti Desai

We think your young readers will love it!

Listen here: https://www.yourkidsnextread.com.au/podcast-episode/friday-first-chapters-18-lora-inak-reads-the-cockatoo-crew/ or wherever you get your pods.

Megan Daley Allison Tait UWA Publishing

09/09/2025

Isabella G. Mead is a finalist in the Queensland Literary Awards for her debut collection of poetry The Infant Vine 🎉

The Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection is awarded to an outstanding collection of poetry by an Australian poet. The collections on the shortlist include;
- The Oblong Plot by Chris Andrews
- Tintinnabulum by Judith Beveridge
- Kangaroo Unbound by Luke Johnson
- The Infant Vine by Isabella G. Mead
- Mixed Business by Alan Wearne

From the judges:
“Isabella G. Mead’s The Infant Vine abounds with unsettling encounters within and beyond the body’s boundaries. The collection grapples with experiences of transformation and (re)birth: child-bearing and raising, climate disaster and seasonal change, and the capacity of visual art to revivify the familiar world. Abundance and devastation coexist, and ‘the direction never changes: / begin again’.”

The winner will be announced at a ceremony later this month. Congratulations Isabella!

Purchase your copy: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/the-infant-vine

08/09/2025

Black Cockatoos - Carnaby's, Forest Red-tails and Baudin's ❤️💛💖

I've had queries this past week about the Talk by Christine Groom - Author that has appeared on the City of South Perth's website, asking if this is the one I'd been trying to organise with the City some months ago. The answer is, Yes. 👍

The City's events team advised the talk would occur around October's "World Animal Day 2025". Sounds good to me!

I hope you'll consider attending this free event
🗓 Monday 6 October 2025
⏰ 10am
📍 Manning Library, 2 Conochie Crescent, Manning

Reserve your seat via the link below.
https://events.humanitix.com/creating-black-cockatoo-friendly-suburbs

It's no secret I love our Black Cockatoos, but they need our help. Individuals and community groups across our City are eager to learn more about them and find ways to provide support. A big thankyou to our community groups who have already shared this event via their networks.

I bought "Creating Black Cockatoo Friendly Suburbs" back in April - the plant lists included are extensive and there are many brilliant ideas 💡to raise community awareness and promote care for these special birds.

We're incredibly privileged to have one of, if not the biggest, metro roost sites right here in our City, so let's celebrate that! 🎉🎉

I'm so pleased our community will have the opportunity to learn more about Black Cockatoos and the book I've found so informative. Our libraries now have 2 copies of the book available to borrow!!📘📗

Friends of Jirdarup Bushland
BirdLife Western Australia

03/09/2025

🌙 NGALAK YONGKA MIYAK KOORLINY 🌙

Kim Scott, Graeme Miniter, and Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories
With artwork by Glenda Williams and Boydan Coyne

Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny is a new addition to the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories series which was first established 14 years ago. Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny is a story that comes from the wise and ancient language of the First People of the Western Australian south coast.

Yongka Miyak is a special ancestral place where, imprinted in granite, is the shape of a resting kangaroo surrounded by the phases of the moon. Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny is a story about elders taking young ones to sacred sites to learn their connection to the ancestors.

Other books in the series include:
• Wirrawoorliny (2025)
• Ngaawily Nop (2017)
• Noorn (2017)
• Yira Boornak Nyininy (2013)
• Dwoort Baal Kaat (2013)
• Noongar Mambara Bakitj (2011)
• Mamang (2011)

Pre-order Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny now via the UWA Publishing website: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/ngalak-yongka-miyak-koorliny

OUT 1 NOVEMBER 2025

The publication of this book and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories series is supported by UWA Publishing's Charles and Joy Staples South West Region Publications Fund.

03/09/2025

🌪 WIRRAWOORLINY 🌪

Kim Scott, Cass Lynch, and Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories
With artwork by Monique Farmer

Wirrawoorliny is a new addition to the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories series which was first established 14 years ago. Wirrawoorliny is a story that comes from the wise and ancient language of the First People of the Western Australian south coast.

An orphaned boy is struck by a djanak, a devil of Noongar Country, and burnt on a fire and eaten. Afterwards, a mysterious whirlwind lifts up his ashes and he is reformed limb by limb. Wirrawoorliny is a story about how Country, language and spirit can guide young people home.

Other books in the series include:
• Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny (2025)
• Ngaawily Nop (2017)
• Noorn (2017)
• Yira Boornak Nyininy (2013)
• Dwoort Baal Kaat (2013)
• Noongar Mambara Bakitj (2011)
• Mamang (2011)

Pre-order Wirrawoorliny now via the UWA Publishing website: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/wirrawoorliny

OUT 1 NOVEMBER 2025

The publication of this book and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories series is supported by UWA Publishing's Charles and Joy Staples South West Region Publications Fund.

03/09/2025

02/09/2025

🌟 ACQUISITION NEWS! 🌟

UWA Publishing has acquired world rights to Helena Pantsis' collection of short stories titled 'Mother Salad.'

Mother Salad is a series of small fictions that explore the plights of womanhood through the lens of mothers and the children of mothers. In 21 stories of the strange and the uncanny, Mother Salad unravels the image of the woman in shambles, identity fractured and exploring a world which has long abandoned the creature it so carefully constructed, betrayed by the very people she has been taught to trust.

Helena Pantsis, on the acquisition of their short story collection, says: “It's a real honour to have my work published with UWAP; with an amazing line-up of stories in their repertoire, it's a huge privilege to become part of this publisher's history. I'm excited to be working with a passionate team that advocates for diverse voices and stories that break the mould.”

Kate Pickard, publisher of UWA Publishing, says “We are thrilled to be publishing Helena’s latest collection of short stories Mother Salad. Helena has written a captivating work of feminist literature and we think it will appeal to readers who enjoyed books like She is Haunted by Paige Clarke and Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung.”

Mother Salad was acquired through UWA Publishing's general submissions and will be published in April 2026.

01/09/2025

Congratulations Emily!! 🎉

Emily Tsokos Purtill has won the Western Australian Premier's Book Award in the Emerging Writer category for her debut novel 'Matia.'

The annual awards, administered and hosted by the State Library, honour the creativity and achievements of authors, illustrators and publishers who tell the story of Western Australia.

Congratulations to all the winners Kelly Canby, Kate Emery, Alan Fyfe, Gerard McCann, Louise Wolhuter, and Beau Windon. Congratulations also to all the shortlisted authors including our very own Daniel Juckes who was shortlisted in the Emerging Writer category for 'The Moment of the Essay.'

Thank you to everyone who has read and supported 'Matia.' ❤

Emily Tsokos Purtill - Author State Library of Western Australia

01/09/2025

OUT NOW!

Planning for a Continent of Cities: Long-range scenarios for Australian urbanisation by Julian Bolleter and Robert Freestone.

Despite their apparent liveability, Australian cities confront many problems. The suburban Australian Dream is increasingly unattainable, and homeownership among young people is declining while renters face mounting insecurity. As cities sprawl, traffic congestion is becoming intolerable. Social isolation is worsening, while polarisation between rich and poor, young and old, the inner city and outer suburbs, continues to grow. Julian Bolleter and Robert Freestone's 'Planning for a Continent of Cities' is an in-depth look at long-range scenarios for Australian urbanisation and is perfect for readers interested in the intersection between long-term population growth and urban planning.

Buy now from your favourite local bookshop or direct from UWA Publishing: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/planning-for-a-continent-of-cities