Debut memoir wins Australia’s richest literary prize
Friday, 1 April 2022
In February this year, first-time author Veronica Gorrie took home Australia’s richest literary prize, the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature at the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, for her memoir...
Alex and the Alpacas Ride Again
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
After saving the world from Kiala, the ancient spirit of destruction, Alex longs for more adventure—and the chance to feel special again. Compared to riding through the Tasmanian wilderness on...
Zombie Diaries #1: Apocalypse Cow!
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
The first book in a fast-paced comedy-adventure series set in a town called Buttburgher where all the adults start turning into zombie cows! Jimmy, Daisy and Hooey will have to...
Bologna Prize shortlist: EK Books
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Publisher Anouska Jones introduces health and wellbeing press Exisle Publishing's children's imprint EK Books. How and why did Exisle's children's imprint EK begin its life? Exisle Publishing began 30 years...
Bologna Prize shortlist: Magabala Books
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Publisher Rachel Bin Salleh introduces Australia's leading First Nations press Magabala Books. How and why did Magabala's children's division begin its life? Magabala has been publishing children’s pictures books since...
Bologna Prize shortlist: Affirm Press
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Children's publisher Tash Besliev intoduces Melbourne independent Affirm Press. How and why did the Affirm Press children's division begin its life? After successfully publishing across many other categories, Affirm Press...
Two Walker titles jointly win Prime Minister’s children’s literature prize
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Two titles published by Walker Books Australia jointly won the children’s book category of the prestigious and valuable Prime Minister’s Literary Awards in 2021: middle-grade graphic novel Fly on the...
So much to share
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Ahead of this year's Bologna Children's Book Fair, running 21–24 March, we are thrilled to share the latest children's and YA titles from Australian publishers in this issue of Think...
Australian children’s and YA bestsellers for 2022 YTD
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
After a bumper year of sales in 2020, in which the children's category was up 9.6% on 2019, the Australian children's book market fell ever so slightly in 2021 (-0.2%),...
Aus YA shows its range
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
From horror to fantasy with some wit and mystery along the way, Australian YA shows its range in several recent deals. Two recent acquisitions by Australian publishers present a similar...
Introducing Gabrielle Wang, Australia’s new Children’s Laureate
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Australian children's author Gabrielle Wang is the new Australian Children’s Laureate for 2022–23. Wang is the award-winning author and illustrator of over 20 books, including The Lion Drummer (illus by...
Aus middle-grade golden age continues
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Australia’s ‘golden age’ of middle-grade fiction doesn’t look it's ending any time soon, with several high-profile fiction acquisitions in the age bracket. Fans of Amelia Mellor around the world will...
Picture this
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
From a nonfiction book about how trees talk to a slam poetry adaptation, Australian publishers are pitching some picture books with a difference at Bologna this year. Jordan Collins’ debut...
In Bologna? Pop by the Australian stand
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
If you’re on the ground in Bologna for this year’s fair, pop by the Australian stand, Hall 25, Stand B78. The Australian Publishers Association stand will be managed by Rome-based...
Serious about series
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Australian publishers will be pitching several new series at Bologna—from some well established names, as well as emerging authors. In middle-grade, Penguin Random House Australia has a ‘charming’ new series...
Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon
Tuesday, 15 March 2022
By the new Australian Children’s Laureate, Gabrielle Wang. Meet Zadie Ma, a girl who writes magical stories that sometimes come true. Zadie’s dearest wish is to have a dog of...
Unlimited Futures (ed by Rafeif Ismail & Ellen van Neerven, Fremantle Press)
Tuesday, 25 January 2022
Unlimited Futures is a YA anthology of sci-fi and speculative fiction edited by Rafeif Ismail and Ellen van Neerven. What makes it so different from other collections like it is...
Growing Up in Flames (Zach Jones, Text)
Tuesday, 18 January 2022
Zach Jones’s debut novel Growing Up in Flames is as gritty as bushfire ash. Written for a doctorate in creative writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast, the novel’s...
Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast (Sue Whiting, Walker Books)
Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Pearly Woe is not your average 10-year-old. She can speak 27 languages, talk to and understand most animals and, in this tale, travels to Antarctica. However, this is no holiday....
Family Tree (Josh Pyke, illus by Ronojoy Ghosh, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 26 October 2021
Family Tree shares the beauty of life through the growth of a tree, one that unites families and communities around the world, spreading joy, love and spirit—and it all starts...
The Boy and the Elephant (Freya Blackwood, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 21 September 2021
After almost 20 years of her books on our shelves, a new Freya Blackwood is always cause for delight. The Boy and the Elephant—Blackwood’s first wordless picture book—allows her quiet...
Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day (Davina Bell, illus by Allison Colpoys, Scribble)
Wednesday, 8 September 2021
Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day is an ode to making a mistake and then making things right. It follows two children—friends with different styles—who come into conflict with each other...
Marcie Gill and the Caravan Park Cat (Monica McInerney, illus by Danny Snell, Puffin)
Wednesday, 8 September 2021
With a dozen adult novels under her belt, Monica McInerney is now turning her hand to children’s fiction and her first foray into middle-grade territory is just as full of heart and laughter as her...
‘Ghost Bird’ sells to UK
Thursday, 2 September 2021
UK independent publisher Old Barn Books has bought UK and Commonwealth (ex Canada and ANZ) rights to Lisa Fuller's YA novel Ghost Bird from University of Queensland Press (UQP). The...
Hachette acquires two Jordan novels
Tuesday, 31 August 2021
Hachette has acquired world rights for two novels by Toni Jordan, in a deal struck between head of fiction Rebecca Saunders and Jane Novak of Jane Novak Literary Agency. The...
Davitt Awards winners announced
Monday, 30 August 2021
Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the winners of the 2021 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The winners in each category are: Adult crime novel...
Ned Kelly Awards 2021 winners announced
Thursday, 26 August 2021
The Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA) has announced the winners of the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards. Crime novels released by Text Publishing swept the fiction categories, with the winning titles...
How to Repaint a Life (Steven Herrick, UQP)
Tuesday, 24 August 2021
How to Repaint a Life is the latest offering from Steven Herrick, author of award-winning young adult titles including The Simple Gift and The Bogan Mondrian. This is gritty, heartbreaking prose that delves into...
CBCA Book of the Year 2021 winners announced
Friday, 20 August 2021
The winners of the 2021 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The winning titles and honour books in each category are: Older...
The First Scientists (Corey Tutt, illus by Blak Douglas, Hardie Grant)
Wednesday, 18 August 2021
In The First Scientists, Corey Tutt, founder of the Deadly Science charity and NSW Young Person of the Year 2020, brings us an extremely engaging, informative and at times funny account of...
