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DANZ Children’s Book Award 2026 longlists announced

Thursday, 2 April 2026   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The 2026 longlists for the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award have been announced.

The longlisted titles in each category are:

Picture books

  • Bapa’s Last Canoe (Maree McCarthy Yoelu, illus by Samantha Campbell, Magabala)
  • The Boab Tree (Helen Milroy, Fremantle)
  • The Colours of Home (Sally Soweol Han, T&H)
  • Earthspeak (Sean McCann, illus by Jade Goodwin, A&U Children’s)
  • Filo’s Butterflies (Litea Fuata, illus by Myo Yim, HGCP)
  • A Lemon for Safiya (Jemima Shafei-Ongu, illus Nisaluk Chantanakom, Lothian)
  • My Cousins, My World (Sharara Attai, illus by Michelle Pereira, A&U Children’s)
  • Train of Thought (Jess Horn, illus by Hayley Wells, HGCPs)
  • The Truck Cat (Deborah Frenkel, illus by Danny Snell, HGCP)
  • Weaving Country (Christine Joy & Aunty Kim Wandin, illus by Ashleigh Pugh, Walker)

Chapter books

  • The Case of the Angry Ghost (Violet and the Velvets #2) (Rachael King, illus by Phoebe Morris, A&U Children’s)
  • The Case of the Missing Stuff (Violet and the Velvets #1) (Rachael King, illus by Phoebe Morris, A&U Children’s)
  • Hello, I’m Here! (Ava Spark) (Alex Field, illus by Joanna Bartel, New Frontier)
  • The Lucky Shoes (Ariana Treasure) (Jacqueline De Rose Ahern, illus by Karen Erasmus, Wombat)
  • The Power of the Heart (Yarn Quest #3) (Brooke Scobie, illus Jade Goodwin, Penguin)
  • Sunny & Shadow (Helen Milroy, Fremantle)

Middle grade

  • Brightest Wild (Tania Crampton-Larking, Lothian)
  • Dreamslinger (Graci Kim, Penguin Random House)
  • Esme in the Limelight (Kate Gordon, Riveted)
  • The Haunting of Hindmarsh Hall (Kate Gordon, Riveted)
  • Legend of the Lighthouse Moon (Helen Edwards, Riveted)
  • Ngurra Home (Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler, illus by Dub Leffler, Magabala)
  • Salty (Sandi Parsons, illus by Jasmine Milton, Faraway Nearby Ink)
  • The Serpent Rider (Yxavel Magno Dino, Bloomsbury Children’s)
  • The Silken Thread (Gabrielle Wang, Penguin)
  • Wurrtoo (Tylissa Elisara, illus by Dylan Finney, Lothian).

The award program recognises children’s books published in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand and is awarded for a book that “pushes boundaries, challenges stereotypes, and celebrates diverse and marginalised people and communities”, including those representing disability, culture, LGBTQI+ identities, race and religion.

The shortlists will be announced in May and the winners awarded at a ceremony on Saturday, 25 July at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

More information about the award is available on the website.

 

Category: Awards Local news