Three WA authors recognised as ‘living treasures’

The Western Australian state government will present Robert Drewe, Joan London and Dave Warner with State Living Treasures Awards at a ceremony on 16 October.

The awards, which were previously presented in 2004 and 1999, are given to ‘highly regarded and skilled’ career artists who have worked within or created work about Western Australia, passed on their knowledge to other artists, and demonstrated a commitment or contribution to the Western Australian arts sector.

Robert Drewe, who divides his time between NSW and Western Australia, is recognised as the author of 15 books of fiction and nonfiction, and the recipient of numerous prizes, including the National Book Awards fiction prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and multiple premier’s literary awards.

Joan London is recognised as ‘an award-winning author whose critically acclaimed works focus on the uniqueness of the human story, journeys taken to find truth, and the complexities of relationships between generations, families and lovers’. Her prizes include the Age Book of the Year Award, the Western Australian Premier’s Award for Fiction and the Steele Rudd Award.

Musician and author Dave Warner is recognised as ‘one of the key voices of the Australian punk movement in the 1970s, [and] he continues to comment on suburban life in the lucky country today’. His debut novel City of Light, published in 1995, won the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award for Fiction, and he has since written numerous books, including crime, comedy, sport, music and children’s titles.

Fifteen artists were recognised in total, including those working in visual art, dance, music, puppetry, theatre and film. The judging panel was chaired by the Department of Culture and the Arts.

For more information, click here.

Category: Local news