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The University's publishing company has been short-listed for an award from the Australian Book Industry.

A place in the final four being considered for Small Publisher of the Year is a huge vote of confidence in UWA Publishing from the book industry.

The ABI says its awards salute the industry's most talented authors, publishers and booksellers. They are regarded as the most prestigious in Australian publishing, and winners are chosen by an academy consisting of a panel of 150 booksellers and publishers.

Director of UWAP, Professor Terri-ann White, said being nominated, judged and short-listed by industry experts was the best possible accolade.

"The other three companies on the shortlist are some of the shining lights - and our role models," she said. "They have the habit of always being on the shortlist, and for the past four years Black Inc and Scribe have alternated as winner. These two and the other finalist, Text, all are Melbourne-based, all bigger than us. Text used to be in the Small Publisher category but was elevated to the Publisher of the Year category three years ago when they passed the threshold of $10 million revenue, but have reduced in size and revenue and are back in the small publisher category."

Professor White said UWAP was producing around 27 books each year: approximately nine fiction, nine nonfiction, eight scholarly books and an art and photography book.

"We have been working really hard since 2009 when we changed our name and our brand," she said. "We have a list that might be described as ‘boutique', all involving authors and ideas that have something distinctive about them and I think that is our strength.

"Many of our books attract a great deal of media attention, especially for a small west coast, university-based press. Our Small company has big impact book reviews took up $3.4 million worth of newspaper space in 2011.

"They include first books of fiction, literary biography, history, books about the extraordinary biodiversity of this state, and books of classic Australian literary writers who have been out of print for years - Dorothy Hewett is one example.

"Two outstanding books from 2011 are Lines for Birds by poet Barry Hill with paintings and drawings by the superb John Wolseley, following the movement of migratory birds: and The Allergy Epidemic: a Modern Mystery by our own Professor Susan Prescott - a wonderful and accessible book about genes and the environment." She said the other short-listed publishers were similar to UWAP in that they published both fiction and non-fiction.

"But they are where all of the vitality is located in Australian publishing. They have amazing publishing lists with authors including Kate Grenville, JM Coetzee, Les Murray, Alice Pung, Helen Garner, Tim Flannery, Robert Manne.

"We are just so excited to be in that company, and to have been put there by industry colleagues is a thrill. We are the first WA publisher to be shortlisted in any of these awards."

Winners will be announced on 18 May at the Sydney Writers' Festival.

Published in UWA News , 30 April 2012