TWO Rocks writer and poet Shey Marque’s book The Hum Hearers is shortlisted for the 2026 Western Australian Premier’s book awards in the poetry section.
The State Library of WA, which manages the Western Australian Premier’s book awards on behalf of the WA Government, announced the shortlist on Wednesday, July 8.
The annual awards support, develop and recognise excellence in Western Australian writing.
With a total prize pool of $120,000 across eight categories, the awards recognise books that capture the excellence of Western Australian storytelling.
In April Yanchep News Online reported that Marque’s The Hum Hearers was on the shortlist for the Kenneth Slessor prize as part of the NSW Premier’s 2026 literary awards.
The Kenneth Slessor prize ($30,000) is offered to a poet for a book of collected poems or a single poem of substantial length published in book form.
The Hum Hearers won the Wesley Michel Wright prize 2025 and was a finalist for the 2023 Dorothy Hewett award.
Throughout the book, Marque explores cellular memory and epigenetic inheritance of family trauma, an interest she has long held since touching on the subject during her PhD at UWA Pathology.
The other poetry books on the Premier’s book awards shortlist include Gold Digger by Lisa Collyer, The Twilight Observatory by Jennifer Kornberger and Past & Parallel Lives by Kaya Ortiz.
