LoveOzYA relaunches with new committee
16 July 2019
Grassroots movement LoveOzYA is relaunching with a new committee and a 'reinvigorated mission'. According to a statement posted online, the LoveOzYA website was hacked earlier in the year but has...
Blabey tops NYT bestseller charts
9 July 2019
Aaron Blabey’s ‘The Bad Guys’ (Scholastic) has topped the New York Times weekly chart for bestselling children’s series. ‘The Bad Guys’, which has spent 37 weeks on the list, came...
‘Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas’ to be read for National Simultaneous Storytime 2020
9 July 2019
Lucinda Gifford's forthcoming picture book Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas (Scholastic, October) has been chosen for the Australian Library and Information Association’s (ALIA) National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) 2020. Marking 20...
Black Inc. to publish ‘creative’ Thunberg bio; sells rights to S&S UK
9 July 2019
Black Inc. has sold world English-language rights (ex ANZ) to a ‘creative biography’ of climate change activist Greta Thunberg to Simon & Schuster Children’s UK. Pitched at middle-grade readers, Greta’s...
UK Society of Authors launches £5000 prize for illustrated children’s books
5 July 2019
In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) has launched the Queen's Knickers Award, a new £5000 (A$8950) prize for children’s illustrated books aimed at readers aged 0–7. Aimed at...
A writer’s life for me: Andrew Daddo on ‘Atticus Van Tasticus’
4 July 2019
Atticus Van Tasticus, Andrew Daddo and Stephen Michael King’s illustrated middle-grade adventure (Puffin, September), follows a 10-year-old whose grandma gifts him a pirate ship. Kelsey Oldham spoke with Daddo about...
Is YA okay?: The state of Australian young adult literature
3 July 2019
With reports from the UK showing a sharp decline in sales of YA fiction, Jackie Tang explores whether the Australian market is experiencing similar changes. When UK trade publication the...
Speech Pathology Australia book awards 2019 shortlists announced
3 July 2019
The shortlists for the 2019 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Birth to three years A Monster in...
Five Mile sells UK, US and Canadian rights to Love Your Body
3 July 2019
Five Mile has sold UK, US and Canadian rights to Jessica Sanders’ picture book Love Your Body (illus by Carol Rossetti) to the Quarto Group. With the latest deal, made...
Dr Karl returns to ABC Books in three-book deal
26 June 2019
ABC Books has acquired three new books by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki in a deal negotiated by Jeanne Ryckmans of the Cameron Creswell Agency. The deal marks Kruszelnicki’s move back to...
May bestsellers: ‘Alpacas with Maracas’ tops picture book chart
26 June 2019
Over one million children in schools, libraries and bookshops across Australia participated in this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime on 22 May, so it was no surprise to see the chosen...
Acevedo, Morris win 2019 Carnegie, Greenaway medals
19 June 2019
The UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has announced the winners of the 2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals. Dominican-American writer and slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo won...
A&U launches new children’s imprint
19 June 2019
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has created a new children’s imprint, Albert Street Books. Albert Street Books will have a commercial focus and will publish books for babies to 12-year-olds. A&U...
Daddo, Phommavanh, Bancks among participants in Littlescribe co-author program
14 June 2019
Online literacy platform Littlescribe has announced its co-author program and participating authors. Authors Andrew Daddo, Oliver Phommavanh, Katrina McKelvey, Tristan Bancks, Deborah Abela and Andreea Kindryd have signed up to...
Netflix to adapt ‘Thelma the Unicorn’ for animated musical feature
12 June 2019
Aaron Blabey’s picture book Thelma the Unicorn (Scholastic) will be adapted into an animated musical film by Netflix. The project will be adapted by husband-and-wife filmmakers Jared and Jerusha Hess...
Morrissey, Cunningham, Wood awarded in 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours
11 June 2019
A number of Australian authors and industry figures were recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours. Di Morrissey, author of 25 novels and five children's books, was awarded a Member...
‘At the End of Holyrood Lane’ wins SCBWI Crystal Kite Award
7 June 2019
Children’s picture book At the End of Holyrood Lane (Dimity Powell & Nicky Johnston, EK Books) has won the Australian and New Zealand division of this year’s Crystal Kite Member...
Nervous laughter: Nina Kenwood on ‘It Sounded Better in My Head’
6 June 2019
Nina Kenwood won the 2018 Text Prize for her YA debut It Sounded Better in My Head (Text, August), which follows neurotic 18-year-old Natalie as she navigates first love during...
NZ Book Awards for Children and YA 2019 finalists announced
6 June 2019
The shortlists for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Picture book award Mini Whinny: Happy Birthday...
YA debut ‘What I Like About Me’ sold to US and France
5 June 2019
Jacinta di Mase Management has sold US and Canadian rights to Jenna Guillaume’s YA debut What I Like About Me (Pan) to Peachtree Publishing, and French-language rights to Pocket Jeunesse....
Berbay sells third Canty ‘Heads and Tails’ picture book to US
4 June 2019
Berbay Publishing has sold North American rights to Melbourne author and illustrator John Canty’s Heads and Tails: Underwater to Candlewick Press. This is the third picture book in Canty’s ‘Heads and Tails’...
Clarke’s ‘The Patchwork Bike’ wins US picture book award
31 May 2019
The Patchwork Bike (Maxine Beneba Clarke, illus by Van T Rudd, Lothian) has won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in the picture book category. A winner and two honour books...
Hachette signs international deal for three new ‘Nevermoor’ books; details for book 3 announced
31 May 2019
Rights to three new books in Jessica Townsend’s ‘Nevermoor’ series have been jointly acquired by Hachette Australia, Hachette Children’s Group UK and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in the...
Four NZ bookshops to receive Puffin grants
31 May 2019
Penguin Random House (PRH) NZ has announced that four New Zealand bookshops will each receive NZ$5000 (A$4707) in funding for children’s reading programs as part of its Puffin bookshop grants...
Screen rights to Nix’s ‘The Keys to the Kingdom’ series sold
30 May 2019
Herschend Entertainment Studios has acquired film and television rights to Garth Nix’s seven-book fantasy series ‘The Keys to the Kingdom’ (A&U), reports Deadline. Jill Grinberg Literary Management sold rights on behalf...
54 bookshops to receive Puffin grants
29 May 2019
Puffin has announced the 54 Australian bookshops that will receive a share of $100,000 in funding for children’s reading programs. The winning bookshops each receive funding between $500 and $5000...
Shortlist announced for 2019 UK Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
27 May 2019
In the UK, the shortlist for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recognising the best science books for children, has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: 100 Things to...
Copyright Agency announces inaugural Reading Australia Teacher Fellow
24 May 2019
The Copyright Agency has announced the inaugural Reading Australia Fellow for a teacher of English and literacy. Alex Wharton, from Carinya Christian School in Gunnedah, NSW, receives $15,000 for a...
MWF schools’ program 2019 announced
24 May 2019
The program for the 2019 Melbourne Writers Festival schools’ program has been announced. More than 60 writers, artists and performers will feature in over 70 events from 2–5 September, with...
Higgie wins inaugural Fogarty Literary Award for ‘The History of Mischief’
23 May 2019
Rebecca Higgie has won the inaugural Fogarty Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript for her novel The History of Mischief. Higgie receives a $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation...
