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UWA Publishing is thrilled to announce Josephine Wilson's manuscript 'Extinctions' is the winner of the inaugural $10,000 Dorothy Hewett Award. The award was presented on Saturday 20th February as part of the Perth Writers Festival.

Josephine Wilson wrote Extinctions as part of a Creative Writing PhD at the University of Western Australia under the tutelage of Associate Professor Tanya Dalziell.

The judges, Publishing Director of UWA Publishing Terri-ann White, poet and niece of Dorothy Hewett, Dr Lucy Dougan, and author and RMIT academic David Carlin, praised the novel for its, "strong, complex sense of Perth" and called it, "funny throughout in a wry, as well as an absurd laugh-out-loud way."

"It was the strongest entry and one that continued to occupy the minds of each reader," said the judges report.

'Extinctions' was one of 130 entries that arrived at UWAP following the announcement of the Dorothy Hewett Award late last year.

Created by UWA Publishing in partnership with Copyright Agency Limited and ABC 720 Perth, it's an initiative to support the growth of Australia's literary talent.

"This is especially important in the face of the recent trend of defunding in the arts sector, which has seen the WA Premier's Book Awards changed to a biennial event," said UWAP Publishing Director Terri-ann White.

Named in celebration of renowned radical Australian writer Dorothy Hewett, the award will become an annual fixture in the Australian arts scene.

On hearing of her manuscript winning the prize, Josephine Wilson said, "It is a great honour for my manuscript to be acknowledged from such a large field for the 2016 Dorothy Hewett Award."

"It is also particularly meaningful to me that the Prize is in the name of a West Australian-born writer of great significance to Australian literature."

"Every writer dreams of a readership, but the road to publication is full of uncertainty and sometimes, disappointment. I am so grateful that my somewhat unusual novel will now find its way into the public sphere."

"I thank UWA Publishing for instigating this wonderful annual prize, and Copyright Agency Limited and ABC 720 Perth for supporting it."