Local voices on the global stage: International rights sales of Indigenous-authored books
19 March 2019
Are we entering a growth period for international rights sales of Indigenous-authored books for young people? Sarah Farquharson reports. Two recent international rights successes for children’s books by Indigenous authors—Ambelin...
No place like home: Kelly and Kennedy on ‘Wilam: A Birrarung Story’
19 March 2019
Aunty Joy Murphy, Andrew Kelly and Lisa Kennedy’s picture book Wilam: A Birrarung Story (Black Dog, April) follows Bunjil (wedge-tailed eagle) as he travels along Birrarung (Yarra River) to the...
Class act: Facilitating in-school author visits
19 March 2019
An inspiring in-school appearance from an author is often the key to getting kids interested in reading. Andrea Hanke spoke to four speakers’ agencies about facilitating these important interactions. For Victoria-based...
How it feels to write: Helana Fox on ‘How it Feels to Float’
19 March 2019
Helena Fox’s YA debut How it Feels to Float (Pan, May) is a ‘perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief’, writes reviewer Bec Kavanagh. She spoke to the author....
Book bites: Diversify your reading
19 March 2019
YA specialist and primary school teacher Mischa Parkee shares her top picks for forthcoming children’s titles. I have been positively overwhelmed by the growing number of inclusive and diverse children’s...
A&U acquires new Anh Do children’s books in three-series deal
14 March 2019
Allen & Unwin has acquired ANZ rights to three new children's series by Anh Do. 'Wolf Girl' is the first of three new series aimed at an older readership of...
Two Shelly Unwin board books sold to US
14 March 2019
Alex Adsett at Alex Adsett Literary Agency has sold North American rights to Shelly Unwin’s board books You’re One! and You’re Two! (A&U, illus by Katherine Battersby) to Penguin Random...
Living the fantasy: Lynette Noni’s career path
14 March 2019
Lynette Noni’s YA fantasy series ‘The Medoran Chronicles’ has cemented her status as one of Australia’s favourite writers. She shares her journey towards becoming a bestselling author. I never wanted...
Redgum to launch ‘full-service’ schools program
14 March 2019
Redgum Book Club is launching a ‘full-service’ literary service for schools, parents and students, which will be available nationwide. Redgum, which recently acquired school book fair provider Central Book Suppliers,...
Four ANZ publishers nominated for Bologna Prize
13 March 2019
Four Australian and New Zealand publishers have been nominated for the Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in the Oceania category. The shortlisted publishers are Scribble Kids’...
Storylines announces notable NZ children’s books for 2019
7 March 2019
The Storylines Children’s Trust has announced its 2019 Notable Books list for children’s and young adult books published in the previous year. Notable books in each category are: Picture books...
SLV ‘retires’ Centre for Youth Literature
5 March 2019
State Library Victoria (SLV) has announced that it will be 'retiring the Centre for Youth Literature sub-brand' and will bring its teen programming under general SLV programming. SLV says that...
Inky Awards 2019 longlists announced
5 March 2019
The longlists for the 2019 Inky Awards have been announced. The awards are presented by State Library Victoria (SLV) for local and international fiction, poetry, anthologies and graphic novels written...
Affirm focuses on children’s/YA manuscripts in 2019 mentorship award
28 February 2019
This year’s Affirm Press Mentorship Award will focus exclusively on young adult and middle-grade fiction submissions, says the publisher. Writers of the three winning submissions will receive a week-long residency...
CBCA 2019 Notable Books announced
27 February 2019
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2019. The books in each category are: Older readers Between Us (Clare Atkins, Black Inc.)...
Readings Children’s Book Prize 2019 shortlist announced
22 February 2019
The shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize for 2019 has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Ice Wolves: Elementals Book One (Amie Kaufman, HarperCollins) The Orchard Underground (Mat Larkin, Hardie...
Melbourne couple wins at 2019 Prix Sorcières
21 February 2019
Picture book Petit Soldat (Editions du Seuil), by Melbourne-based couple Pierre Jacques Ober and Jules Ober, has been awarded at the 2019 Prix Sorcières in France. Due to be published...
Jennings, Colpoys longlisted for Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals
20 February 2019
Australian children's author Paul Jennings and illustrator Allison Colpoys have been longlisted for the UK's 2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals respectively. Jennings' novel A Different Boy (A&U), illustrated by Australian artist...
Big Sky lands 17-book deal for US rights
20 February 2019
Big Sky Publishing has sold North American and US territories rights to 17 children’s book titles to independent educational publishing house Rosen Publishing. Set in motion at the 2018 Frankfurt...
Walker signs global deal for Maggie O’Farrell’s first children’s book
18 February 2019
The Walker Books Group has acquired the first children’s book by Northern Irish novelist Maggie O’Farrell in a global rights deal. Agent and director at A M Heath Victoria Hobbs...
PRH Australia launches local speakers bureau
14 February 2019
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced it will establish a local speakers bureau, which will coordinate PRH authors’ speaking engagements for corporate clients, and the business, government and academic...
KYD launches writing prize for school students
14 February 2019
Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has launched a new writing prize, designed to develop, mentor, edit and publish the work of two writers from Australian secondary schools. The inaugural KYD School...
‘Catching Teller Crow’ sold to UK, US
12 February 2019
UK and US rights to Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina's YA novel Catching Teller Crow (A&U) have been sold to Penguin Children's Books UK and Knopf respectively. The book will be published in...
UK sales of YA dropped 21.5% in 2018
11 February 2019
Nielsen figures for 2018 show that sales of YA titles in the UK dropped by 21.5% last year, reports the Bookseller. The YA fiction sector fell by £6.2 million (A$11.3m)...
Transit Lounge sells ‘Soon’ to UK in two-book deal; acquires first kids’ book
6 February 2019
Transit Lounge has sold world English-language rights (ex ANZ) to Soon (Lois Murphy) in a two-book deal to UK independent publisher Titan. Soon, which is loosely based on the true...
Hager wins Margaret Mahy Medal
6 February 2019
Wellington-based author Mandy Hager has won the 2019 Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, presented annually for lifetime achievement and distinguished contribution to New Zealand children’s literature. Hager is the author of...
Wakefield launches dedicated YA list
5 February 2019
Adelaide-based small publisher Wakefield Press will launch a dedicated YA list this year, under the direction of newly appointed publisher Margot Lloyd. Wakefield aims to publish three to four YA...
Moriarty’s ‘Bronte Mettlestone’ sold to UK
5 February 2019
Jill Grinberg of Jill Grinberg Literary Management has sold UK and Commonwealth rights (ex ANZ) to The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (Jaclyn Moriarty, A&U) to Guppy Books, a...
Inaugural summit of Australian Children’s Laureates announced for 2019
4 February 2019
The Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF) will hold the inaugural Australian Children’s Laureate Summit on 28 February and 1 March 2019 in Sydney. The event brings together all of Australia’s...
‘Kindred’ anthology to tour, thanks to OzCo funding
30 January 2019
A number of organisations and individuals were among the recipients of the Australia Council’s latest grants round, which awarded $6.6 million to almost 200 projects. Michael Earp, editor of short...
