Welcome to the new Junior newsletter
Mid-pandemic feels like a strange time to be revamping our Junior newsletter, but it also feels more vital than ever to spotlight our children’s book creators and continue reporting the latest news from the world of children’s books. This is why we are now endeavouring to bring you not just reviews of forthcoming picture books, middle-grade and YA titles, but also the latest children’s industry news and features, all in one place.
With schools closing and kids being kept home during the Covid-19 outbreak, Dymocks has reported a 300% increase in online sales of children’s nonfiction, while Good Reading has collated a list of library e-resources (including ebooks) available at the click of a button. Bologna Children’s Book Fair has gone digital in the wake of its cancellation, while closer to home booksellers are adapting with social media storytimes and book recommendations, and Books Create Australia has announced an agreement for online library storytimes. These heartening developments all underscore just how fundamental books—for both education and play—are to daily life.
In more positive news this month, Davina Bell was appointed publisher at Allen & Unwin (coincidentally, you can find our review of her first YA novel below), the shortlists for the 2020 CBCA Awards were released, and legendary author Margaret Wild was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
In this edition of Junior you’ll also find the first column of the year from our new columnist, Adele Walsh, whose op-eds will appear bi-monthly, as well as reviews of books publishing in June. Our reviews are a little light-on this month owing to the chaos that Covid-19 has wrought with publication dates, however at the time of writing these books are still slated for their original publication dates. While we don’t have a new author interview this month owing to a late change with a pub date, take a moment to revisit our interview with the author of the stunning debut picture book Who’s Your Real Mum?, which is out this week with Scribble.
As always, we welcome any feedback that you might have, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Take care and keep reading,
Kelsey Oldham
Editor and reviews coordinator
kelsey@booksandpublishing.com.au
Category: Junior newsletter Editorial
