A Western Australian First Nations publishing company has picked up a top gong at the Australian Book Industry Awards.

Magabala Books won the Small Publisher of the Year category at the awards ceremony in Naarm (Melbourne) on Thursday night.

Magabala Books was established 40 years ago after more than 500 Aboriginal Elders met in the Kimberley to discuss how to keep First Nations culture strong and to protect the intellectual property and culture of Indigenous people.

The Broome-based publisher has since produced more than 250 titles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, artists and illustrators including Alexis Wright, Ali Cobby-Eckermann and Alison Whittaker.

Before the awards, Magabala chief executive Lilly Brown told National Indigenous Times about the importance of the nomination.

"The Australian Book Industry Awards nomination is good for your standing in the industry too because the publishing sector in the country is pretty small," she said.

"Magabala is a not-for-profit, but all our profits do go back into the organisation and our key mandate which is to support First Nations people to tell First Nations stories.

"A lot of people feel they don't know much about First Nations stories so for them to have access to First Nations stories and for those stories to be told in voice is imperative."

The judges said Magabala Books' contribution to the industry at large could be felt at every level of publishing.

"This is an incredible feat for any publisher – and it's all the more impressive for a company that operates outside the main metropolitan publishing centres," the judges said.

"Magabala has produced an exceptionally diverse list of titles in the last year, while maintaining their best-practice support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander emerging creators, and early-career staff."

Magabala Book, which is regarded as one of the fastest-growing independent small publishers in Australia, also won the Small Publisher of the Year category in 2020.