In an exciting celebration of Western Australia’s literary talent, Writing WA is proud to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Literary Coasters Initiative. This unique project will see thousands of eco-coasters distributed across cafes, bookshops, pubs, writers’ centres, and other partner venues throughout WA, showcasing powerful excerpts of prose and poetry by some of the state’s most inspiring authors.
Eight published WA authors and poets have been shortlisted for this initiative, chosen for their close alignment with the Selection Criteria. The final four featured works are now set to be determined by public vote. Voting is free and open to all members of the public, including the shortlisted authors themselves. Each individual is permitted one vote in the prose category and one in the poetry category.
VIEW THE SHORTLIST AND VOTE HERE.
Important dates:
Voting opens 24 January 2025.
Voting closes 14 February, 5 pm AWST.
Winners announced late February 2025.
Please note: The four most-voted excerpts will be featured on the eco-coasters, joining selections from four Treasured/Deceased WA authors already chosen for this initiative. The final list of all eight authors will be revealed in February 2025.
About the Project
The Literary Coasters Initiative is part of Changing the Conversation: Stories in All Spaces, a 2024-25 program facilitated by Writing WA and generously funded by the State of Western Australia through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The project aims to amplify WA literary voices through cross-artform collaborations and innovative public engagement strategies, encouraging readers to engage with local literature in fresh and creative ways.
‘Writing WA received 40 nominations for the Literary Coasters Initiative, with each one showcasing the remarkable depth and diversity of Western Australia’s literary talent. Reviewing these submissions was both inspiring and challenging, as each extract of work offered a unique perspective, a strong sense of place, and exceptional craftsmanship. With such a high standard across all submissions, narrowing the list to just eight living authors was no easy task. We are excited to now engage the public in deciding the final selection and look forward to announcing the chosen authors in 2025.’ Shannon Britza, Project Manager.