Oz publishers heading to Bologna in final year of funding
Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Twelve independent publishers will take part in the Australian collective stand at this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which runs from 30 March to 2 April. The 2020 fair marks...
‘You Can Change the World’ sold in multiple territories
Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Pantera Press has sold rights in several territories to Lucy Bell’s You Can Change the World, an illustrated practical guide ‘designed to empower kids to make changes in their lives...
ALA Youth Media Awards 2020: graphic novel wins Newbery for first time
Tuesday, 28 January 2020
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals. Jerry Craft’s graphic novel New Kid (Quill...
Adaptation of Winton’s ‘Blueback’ gets Screen Aus funding
Thursday, 23 January 2020
A feature film adaptation of Tim Winton’s 1997 novella Blueback (Penguin) has received production funding from Screen Australia in its latest funding round. Writer/director Robert Connolly of Arenamedia will work...
PRH sells ‘The Tiny Star’ to US
Friday, 17 January 2020
Penguin Random House Australia has sold North American rights to Mem Fox’s picture book The Tiny Star (illus by Freya Blackwood) to Knopf Books for Young Readers. Editorial director of...
CBCA, Little Bookroom organise book drives for bushfire-affected children
Wednesday, 15 January 2020
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) in November announced a partnership with the not-for-profit Givit to raise money to buy books for children and young adults affected by the bushfire...
A&U acquires ANZ rights to Marney’s new YA novel
Wednesday, 15 January 2020
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to a new YA thriller by Ellie Marney. None Shall Sleep, which A&U described as a YA Silence of the Lambs, is...
Book bites: Starting 2020 on the right note
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Mischa Parkee, teacher and children’s specialist at Sydney’s Better Read Than Dead, shares her top children's picks for the new year. What better way to bring in the new year...
MidnightSun acquires Steve Heron picture book
Thursday, 5 December 2019
MidnightSun has acquired world rights to the picture book Ling Li’s Lantern, by Steve Heron and illustrated by Benjamin Johnston. Ling Li’s Lantern follows Ling Li on a quest that...
Big Sky sells six children’s titles to US imprint Windmill Books
Thursday, 5 December 2019
Big Sky Publishing has sold North American and US territories rights to six children’s titles to Windmill Books, an imprint of independent educational publishing house Rosen Publishing. The deal, which...
Beasley wins inaugural OzCo Arts and Disability Award for an emerging artist
Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Tennant Creek-based artist and illustrator Dion Beasley was one of three winners at the Australia Council’s inaugural Arts and Disability Awards, presented at a ceremony at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery...
More than 380,000 UK children don’t own a single book: National Literary Trust
Tuesday, 3 December 2019
In the UK, research from the National Literary Trust (NLT) has found more than 380,000 children don’t own a single book, reports the Bookseller. The research found children who own...
Former Macmillan Education staff launch new educational publisher
Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Former staff from Macmillan Education Australia’s school division have formed a new educational publishing company called Matilda Education. After Macmillan Education Australia announced in August that it would withdraw its...
Hardie Grant Egmont acquires Alex Dyson’s debut YA novel
Thursday, 28 November 2019
Hardie Grant Egmont has acquired world rights to the debut young adult novel by former triple j breakfast presenter Alex Dyson. When it Drops follows social outcast and bedroom musician...
PRH sells Aung Than graphic novel series to US in six-figure deal
Monday, 25 November 2019
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has sold North American rights to the first three books in Gavin Aung Than’s middle-grade graphic novel series ‘Super Sidekicks’ to Random House Children's Books...
‘A Secret Safe to Tell’ wins Chinese children’s award
Friday, 22 November 2019
In China, a translated edition of Naomi Hunter’s A Secret Safe to Tell (illus by Karen Erasmus, Empowering Resources) has won the gold award at the Children’s Choice Book Awards. Translated into...
China ‘most active’ international market for Oz kids publishers: Insights from the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
A delegation of Australian publishers and agents attended this year’s China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), which ran from 15–17 November. Wenona Byrne, Australia Council’s director of literature, reports...
Marketing to the gatekeepers: Karys McEwen on marketing books for young people
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
In her final column for Junior, Karys McEwen explores what works (and what doesn’t) when marketing children’s literature to the people actually purchasing books—adults. When it comes to marketing literature to...
‘Heads and Tails: Insects’ wins CICLA for Best International Picture Book
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
John Canty's picture book Heads and Tails: Insects (Berbay) has won an award for Best International Picture Book at the Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Awards (CICLA) in China. Heads...
HarperCollins launches new prize for YA, middle-grade
Tuesday, 19 November 2019
HarperCollins Children’s Books Australia has launched a new prize for middle-grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction, called the Matilda Children’s Literature Prize. The winner of the annual prize will...
‘Missing Marvin’ wins Children’s Peace Literature Award
Tuesday, 12 November 2019
Sue deGennaro’s picture book Missing Marvin (Scholastic) has won this year’s Children’s Peace Literature Award. Convener of the judging panel Kate Prescott described Missing Marvin as a funny and gentle...
State of euphoria: Alison Evans on ‘Euphoria Kids’
Friday, 8 November 2019
Reviewer Jordi Kerr says Alison Evans’ YA novel Euphoria Kids (Echo, February) is ‘a tender, contemporary fairytale about magic, friendship and gender identity’ that follows three trans kids ‘learning to...
Long-term appeal: Marketing a series
Thursday, 7 November 2019
How—and to whom—do publishers market books as part of series? Bec Kavanagh spoke to Hardie Grant Egmont and Scholastic about their approaches to creating buzz that transforms into longevity. In two...
Herrick’s YA novel ‘By the River’ wins German Youth Literature Prize
Thursday, 7 November 2019
NSW-based author Steven Herrick’s YA novel By the River (A&U) has won Germany’s Youth Literature Prize in the young adult division. First published in 2004, By the River follows 14-year-old...
Winners of 2019 YABBAs announced
Wednesday, 30 October 2019
The winners of the 2019 Young Australians Best Book Awards (YABBAs), Victoria’s children’s choice awards, have been announced. The winning titles are: Picture storybooks Seriously Do Not Open This Book (Andy...
John Flanagan’s ‘Ranger’s Apprentice’ to be adapted for film
Tuesday, 29 October 2019
A film based on YA adventure series ‘Ranger’s Apprentice’ by Australian author John Flanagan (Random House Children’s) has received funding and is expected to begin production in 2020, reports the...
‘The Things We Can’t Undo’ wins AAFT Award for Children’s Literature
Thursday, 24 October 2019
Gabrielle Reid’s YA novel The Things We Can’t Undo (Ford Street) has won the 2019 Australian Association of Family Therapists’ (AAFT) Award for Children’s Literature. The novel follows the relationship between...
2020 vision: Kids’ and YA title preview
Wednesday, 23 October 2019
New books from favourites including Melina Marchetta, Sally Morgan and Jessica Townsend are slated for 2020 publication, alongside debuts by Danielle Binks and Georgina Young that are already generating buzz....
Twelve Australians nominated for 2020 Astrid Lindgren Award
Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Twelve Australian authors, illustrators and organisations have been announced as candidates for the 2020 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's richest prize for children's literature. The Australian candidates are: Randa...
‘Message in a Sock’ wins children’s book award
Monday, 21 October 2019
Picture book Message in a Sock (Kaye Baillie, illus by Narelda Joy, MidnightSun) has won a Northern Lights Book Award for children’s books that ‘excel in aesthetic and literary qualities...
