UWA Publishing has just won the Best Designed Book Cover of the Year Award at the 2009 Australian Publishers' Association Book Design Awards in Sydney. 

The winning entry Wild Bees:  New and Selected Poems by Martin Harrison, sported the simple design of a copper foiled ‘bee' flying across a striking black background. 

Meanwhile, Aborigines and Activism:  Race, Aborigines and the Coming of the Sixties to Australia by Jennifer Clark, was shortlisted for the Best Designed Reference and Scholarly Book Award.

A typically sixties design print, using the colours of the Indigenous Australian flag, formed the background of the Aborigines and Activism book cover.

In-house designer with UWA Publishing, Anna Maley-Fadgyas, said she was thrilled to have won the best designed cover award, especially because it was her first time entering the nation-wide awards.

"These awards are a testament to the amazing work that is being employed to make sure each book published by UWA Publishing is truly a work of art, both inside as well as on the cover," Director of UWA Publishing, Professor Terri-ann White said.

The judges remarked, "Wild Bees proved that you don't have to be a big book to sweep the board.  This was an incredibly tight category this year."

Interviews, extracts and review copies are available.

Media references

Sylvia Defendi, UWA Publishing  (+61 8)  6488 6804  /  (+61 4) 17 967 415