Australian bookshop tour: The Mad Hatters Bookshop
Wednesday, 13 April 2022
Established in 2015, Brisbane's The Mad Hatters Bookshop was opened with the goal of making 'a magical, family-friendly space for book lovers' and showcasing the talented book creators in its...
A Feather on a Wing (Maria Speyer, UQP)
Tuesday, 12 April 2022
The darkness of night is a common fear for many children trying to get to sleep after lights-out. The dark can make you feel alone and separated from everyone, even...
When Only One (Meg Gatland-Veness, Pantera)
Tuesday, 12 April 2022
Everything changes when Sam’s one-time best friend Emily appears outside his window for the first time in five years. He knows why she’s back and it isn’t good. The story...
HarperCollins announces Barty publishing program
Tuesday, 12 April 2022
HarperCollins has acquired world rights to two children’s series and a memoir by Australian tennis player Ash Barty, in a deal brokered by Barty’s management team, HarperCollins head of nonfiction...
Nonfiction picture books popular at ‘phenomenal’ Bologna
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
The 2022 Bologna Children's Book Fair wrapped up on 24 March, the first time the event was held in three years. ‘The event was much smaller than before Covid, and...
The Comedienne’s Guide To Pride (Hayli Thomson, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 5 April 2022
The only phrase you’ll need to get this debut into the hands of avid YA readers will be ‘Sapphic rom-com’—but there’s a lot more to this novel that will capture...
Open Your Heart to Country (Jasmine Seymour, Magabala)
Tuesday, 5 April 2022
Open Your Heart to Country is the stunning fourth picture book from Dharug woman and award-winning author/illustrator Jasmine Seymour. It’s a story of welcome and belonging told in two languages,...
SCBWI Picture Book Illustrator Awards open to Aotearoa NZ creators
Tuesday, 5 April 2022
After running as a trial in 2021, the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Picture Book Illustrator Awards have received three-year funding from the Copyright Agency. SCBWI regional...
Lonesborough wins IBBY Ena Noël Award 2022
Monday, 4 April 2022
Gary Lonesborough’s debut YA novel The Boy from the Mish (A&U) has won the biennial Ena Noël Award, presented by the Australian branch of the International Board on Books for...
CBCA 2022 Book of the Year shortlists announced
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its 2022 Book of the Year shortlists. The shortlisted books in each category are: Older readers The Boy from the Mish (Gary...
The Way of Dog (Zana Fraillon, UQP)
Tuesday, 29 March 2022
The Way of Dog is the latest work from internationally acclaimed author Zana Fraillon. A beautifully written verse novel told through an animal voice, this is an ambitious and absorbing...
Beatnik named Bologna publisher of the year, Oceania
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Aotearoa New Zealand publisher Beatnik Publishing is the winner of the Oceania category of the 2022 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year. The Bologna Children’s Book...
All the Little Tricky Things (Karys McEwen, Text)
Tuesday, 22 March 2022
This debut middle-grade novel is a gentle and empathetic story about navigating the period between primary and high school, as well as the complex ways in which adolescent female friendships...
Storytorch acquires Godwin environmental picture book
Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Storytorch Press has acquired world rights to Nicole Godwin's picture book Bower Bob, which explores the harm plastic has on native birdlife. Godwin is a children’s author known for her...
The Greatest Thing (Sarah Winifred Searle, A&U Children’s)
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
The Greatest Thing is a graphic novel about friendship and self-actualisation, with a dash of queer romance. Semi-autobiographical in nature, it’s set in America in 2002 where Winifred (Searle) meets...
The Callers (Kiah Thomas, HarperCollins)
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Publishing simultaneously in Australia and the US, The Callers—Kiah Thomas’s first foray into middle-grade fiction—is a thoughtful, nuanced fantasy adventure in which two young people fight back against a colonising...
Seven Days (Fleur Ferris, Puffin)
Tuesday, 8 March 2022
Winner of a Young Australian Best Book Award (YABBA) for her debut YA novel Risk, Fleur Ferris has subsequently built a reputation for dark and compelling YA thrillers. Ferris’s second...
Let’s Build a Backyard (Mike Lucas, illus by Daron Parton, Lothian)
Tuesday, 8 March 2022
A companion to Mike Lucas and Daron Parton’s 2021 publication Let’s Build a House, this bouncy book illustrates simple steps to creating a garden—dig, plant, water, protect and enjoy the...
Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending (Jodi McAlister, Wakefield)
Tuesday, 1 March 2022
Jodi McAlister, author of the young adult urban fantasy trilogy ‘Valentine’, draws on her academic study of romance fiction in her new YA novel Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending....
How to Spell Catastrophe (Fiona Wood, Pan)
Tuesday, 1 March 2022
Fiona Wood, three-time winner of the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers, moves into middle-grade fiction with the funny and charming How to Spell Catastrophe. Nell McPherson is...
CBCA 2022 Notable Books announced
Wednesday, 23 February 2022
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2022. The list acts as the longlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards....
Katerina Cruickshanks (Daniel Gray-Barnett, Scribble)
Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Daniel Gray-Barnett’s playful second book as both author and illustrator tells a cautionary tale about exiling exuberance and individuality. Katerina Cruickshanks’ wild and inventive approach to the world becomes too...
A Sprinkle of Sadie (Lana Spasevski, illus by Joanie Stone, Affirm)
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
A Sprinkle of Sadie, illustrated by Joanie Stone, is the first in a new junior fiction series from Australian writer Lana Spasevski. Seven-year-old Sadie Le lives with her family in...
Wild shortlisted for 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
Australian children’s author Margaret Wild has been shortlisted for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award, administered by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Wild is among the...
Walker acquires Daley picture book about bees
Friday, 18 February 2022
Walker Books Australia has acquired Native Bees, a new title in the publisher’s Nature Storybook series, by Brisbane teacher librarian Megan Daley. Daley is the author of Raising Readers (UQP),...
Greder’s ‘Diamonds’ longlisted for Kate Greenaway Medal
Thursday, 17 February 2022
In the UK, Swiss-born long-time Australian resident Armin Greder has made the longlist for the 2022 Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding achievement in children’s illustration, announced along with the longlist...
Milo Finds $105: Bored #1 (Matt Stanton, ABC Books)
Wednesday, 16 February 2022
When you’re young, one of the most exciting moments in your life is finding money. Coins, cool, but actual notes—amazing! Milo, the 11-year-old narrator of Matt Stanton’s new series ‘Bored’,...
Everything You Want to See (Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Fremantle Press)
Wednesday, 16 February 2022
From a dog to a dinosaur, from a butterfly to a lion’s roar, this fun and eclectic collection of ‘things’ is everything you want to see when you are a...
Crumbs (Phil Cummings, illus by Shane DeVries, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 8 February 2022
This quiet little tale has the feel of a Pixar short film crossed with a simple folk parable from a bygone era. Young Ella, who has nothing to give to...
The Ghost Locket (Allison Rushby, Walker)
Tuesday, 8 February 2022
Allison Rushby’s latest middle-grade offering is a creative, entertaining blend of genres, the supernatural spilling into a historical mystery in a modern-day setting. Twelve-year-old Lolli and her guardian Freya have...
