‘Missing Marvin’ wins Children’s Peace Literature Award
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’
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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...
‘All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors’ sold to US, Canada
17 October 2019
Hardie Grant Egmont has sold US and Canadian rights to picture book All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors (Davina Bell, illus by Jenny Løvlie) to HarperCollins imprint...
Noni moves to PRH after eight-way auction
17 October 2019
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired ANZ rights to a new series from YA author Lynette Noni titled 'The Prison Healer'. Rights were acquired in an eight-way auction via...
Walker acquires middle-grade novels from Pamela Rushby, Allison Rushby
16 October 2019
Walker Books Australia has acquired world rights to new middle-grade titles by authors Pamela Rushby and Allison Rushby, who are mother and daughter. Pamela Rushby's book, called The Mummy Smugglers...
Oz, NZ authors and illustrators on 2019 White Ravens list
16 October 2019
Several books by Australian and New Zealand authors and illustrators have been included in the 2019 White Ravens list for international children’s and youth literature. The Australian titles on the...
Amazon launches Kindle for kids
8 October 2019
Amazon has launched a Kindle for children, marking the first time the company has designed a device specifically for kids. The Kindle Kids Edition, priced at A$182.50, includes the standard...
Masson joins MidnightSun with spec-fic YA novel
7 October 2019
MidnightSun Publishing has acquired world rights to Sophie Masson’s YA speculative fiction novel The Ghost Squad. Set in ‘an alternative yet jarringly familiar reality’, The Ghost Squad follows 16-year-old Polly...
‘Zobi and the Zoox: A story of coral bleaching’ awarded Whitley Medal 2019
4 October 2019
Royal Zoological Society of NSW has announced the winner of the 2019 Whitley Awards, presented for outstanding publications that profile the unique wildlife of the Australasian region. The Whitley Medal,...
The information age: Children’s reference books
2 October 2019
In a time of internet fatigue, young readers are turning back to books as authoritative sources of information. Danielle Binks investigates. George Orwell is said to have stated, ‘In a...
‘Dinner Detectives’ books to be developed for TV
26 September 2019
Melbourne-based production studio BES Animation has acquired world broadcast and digital content rights to self-published picture book series ‘Dinner Detectives’, with plans to develop the books into a multi-platform TV...
Windy Hollow makes first North American sale with ‘Ivy Bird’
26 September 2019
Independent children’s publisher Windy Hollow has sold North American rights to Ivy Bird (Tania McCartney, illus by Jess Racklyeft) to Blue Dot Books. The deal, negotiated by Natasha Solomun at...
Audiobooks for children double in popularity in UK
25 September 2019
In the UK, the popularity of children's audiobooks has increased by 138% since January 2018, reports the Bookseller. In a report shared at the Bookseller Children's Conference in London, market...
Hoffmann’s ‘inclusive, uplifting’ picture books sold to US
23 September 2019
Hardie Grant Egmont has sold US rights to Susann Hoffmann’s Girls are Pretty ... (smart, clever, fast) and Boys Will Be ... (kind, calm, creative) to Penguin Philomel. Girls are...
May Gibbs trust announces 2020 fellows
20 September 2019
The May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust has announced six fellows for 2020. The recipients of the fellowship are: Mark Carthew Deb Fitzpatrick Sadami Konchi Meg McKinlay Chrissie Perry Michelle Vasiliu....
Drawn to writing: Rove McManus on ‘Disgusting McGrossface’
18 September 2019
Aussie television personality Rove McManus makes his foray into children’s books with picture book Disgusting McGrossface (Scholastic, September) and younger readers novel Rocky Lobstar (Scholastic, October). Kelsey Oldham spoke to...
Environment Award for Children’s Literature 2019 winners announced
16 September 2019
The Wilderness Society has announced the winners of the 2019 Environment Award for Children’s Literature. The winners are: Picture fiction The All New Must Have Orange 430 (Michael Speechley, Viking)...
Walker acquires Neridah McMullin picture book
16 September 2019
Walker Books Australia has acquired world rights to a new picture book by Neridah McMullin called The Drover. Based a true story, the book follows a young female drover as...
Love wins 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize
12 September 2019
In the UK, Jessica Love has won the £5000 (A$8990) Klaus Flugge Prize for most promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration for Julian is a Mermaid (Walker Books), reports...
The Children’s Bookshop to close in November
11 September 2019
The Children’s Bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Beecroft will close at the end of November. The shop opened in 1971 and has been owned by Paul Macdonald for the...
Walker to distribute new UK children’s publisher in ANZ
11 September 2019
A new UK-based independent children’s publisher will launch in 2020, with Walker Books Australia to handle local distribution. Australian ex-pat Rachel Williams and colleague Jenny Broom will launch Magic Cat...
Hardie Grant Egmont to release new Billie B Brown books to celebrate 10 years
10 September 2019
Hardie Grant Egmont (HGE) will publish three new Billie B Brown books (Sally Rippin, illus by Aki Fukuoka) in April 2020, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the bestselling series....
