City announces the Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers

WA author Craig Silvey has been announced as the new patron for the City of Subiaco’s prestigious youth writers award.
 
Silvey is a natural successor to long-standing and beloved award patron Tim Winton, who stepped down after 30 years of patronage in 2022. Author of modern Australian classics including Honeybee and Jasper Jones, as well as his latest release Runt, Silvey’s writing resonates with readers across the generations.
 
The Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers launches in June 2023 and will venture beyond an award’s traditional focus of rewarding achievement, and will concentrate on supporting and developing the writing process and celebrating the ‘messy middle’ where ideas are unformed but have exciting potential.
 
Mayor David McMullen said, “We thank Tim Winton for his years of patronage – he helped shape and influence so many aspiring writers who have gone on to do extraordinary things – but we are excited by the direction the award is taking under the new leadership of Craig Silvey.
 
“Who better to inspire the next generation of writers, than one who wrote and published his first novel as a young writer himself and understands the struggles and reward involved in taking an idea through to completion.”
 
Subiaco Library will run and record a series of writing workshops across May in advance of the award launch in June. The workshops, led by a range of esteemed WA authors, will be available to schools and libraries across WA, building on the awards reputation for supporting local and regional talent.
 
The Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers will be open to Western Australian school students in years one to twelve. Full details about the awards and how to enter will be available on the City of Subiaco’s website.