NZ Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize winner announced
18 September 2020
Hachette NZ and the Margaret Mahy estate have announced Nelson-based artist Lily Emo as the winner of the 2020 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize for unpublished illustrators. Unpublished New Zealand artists...
Anemone is Not the Enemy (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
16 September 2020
Everybody needs a special friend—one they can rely on, one who’s there for them—but Anemone is lonely and finding it very difficult. The problem is he accidentally stings everybody who...
Everyday heroes: Jamila Rizvi on ‘I’m a Hero Too’
16 September 2020
Jamila Rizvi's picture book I'm a Hero Too (illus by Peter Cheong, Puffin, November) 'provides gentle positive reinforcement for children who feel helpless and scared' in the face of changes...
I’m a Hero Too (Jamila Rizvi, illus by Peter Cheong, Puffin)
16 September 2020
I’m a Hero Too is about a little boy named Arty who’s feeling sad and out of sorts because his parents are acting strangely. Mum is talking in whispers and...
PRH acquires Madden’s ‘Anything But Fine’
16 September 2020
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired ANZ rights to YA novel Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden. The novel’s teenage protagonist Luca Mason has been preparing to audition for...
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing establishes new illustration prize
15 September 2020
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has established a new illustration prize. The Little Hare Prize for Illustration has been established to ‘inspire new work from unpublished and emerging artists’ and...
Environment Award for Children’s Literature 2020 winners announced
14 September 2020
The Wilderness Society has announced the winners of the 2020 Environment Award for Children’s Literature. The winning books in each category, chosen from shortlists announced in May, are: Picture fiction:...
Affirm acquires picture book based on viral TikTok poem
11 September 2020
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to picture book Our Family Pledge, based on a poem by Emmaline Carroll Southwell that has accumulated millions of views on video sharing platform...
PRH named ‘master publishing partner’ for Bluey books ahead of US, UK launches
10 September 2020
Penguin Random House (PRH) will publish Bluey titles in the US from October 2020 and in the UK from 2021, after BBC Studios named the multinational ‘master publishing partner’ for...
How to Be a Real Ballerina (Davina Bell, illus by Jenny Løvlie, Little Hare Books)
9 September 2020
Many preschoolers go through a ballerina phase and Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie’s latest picture book shows a little girl doing the utmost to be a real ballerina—but not quite...
Ernie’s Journey (David Woodland, Berbay)
9 September 2020
David Woodland’s debut picture book Ernie’s Journey is unmistakably influenced by his award-winning cinematic background. Its visual detail and narrative novelty are rich, and the absurd adventures of its eponymous...
Light bulb moment: why stories of women in STEM are important
9 September 2020
Books+Publishing's Junior columnist Adele Walsh reflects how far we've come and how far we still need to go when it comes to the representation of women in STEM in books...
Australian Geographic acquires ‘Deadly Science’ series
4 September 2020
Australian Geographic has acquired world rights to an eight-book 'Deadly Science' nonfiction series aimed at primary school readers. Developed in conjunction with Deadly Science founder Corey Tutt, who will edit...
YA trilogy ‘Valentine’ optioned for screen
3 September 2020
Jodi McAlister's supernatural YA trilogy 'Valentine' (Penguin) has been optioned for screen by Like A Photon Creative via Alex Adsett of Alex Adsett Publishing Services. McAlister's trilogy features a team...
Scary Bird (Michel Streich, Scholastic)
2 September 2020
A lively little book, Scary Bird puts diversity, adjustment and acceptance into an understandable parable for little listeners (though plenty of big listeners would also do well to pay attention...
Little Jiang (Shirley Marr, illus by Katy Jiang, Fremantle Press)
2 September 2020
Born under a confluence of inauspicious signs and hitherto haunted by all manner of hungry ghosts, it’s difficult for Mei to dismiss her aunt’s firmly held belief that she is...
SCBWI announces new awards for Australian illustrators
31 August 2020
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has announced three new awards for Australian illustrators, with support from the Copyright Agency. The SCBWI Australian Picture Book Illustrator Awards...
The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars (Shivaun Plozza, Puffin)
26 August 2020
Young readers with an insatiable hunger for adventure will love The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars, a timeless new novel from Shivaun Plozza. A departure from her writing for...
How to Make a Bird (Meg McKinlay, illus by Matt Ottley, Walker Books)
26 August 2020
For those children who revel in the natural environment, particularly fossils and bones, How to Make a Bird is a delight. According to the young girl protagonist, you will need...
ILF to hold Indigenous Literacy Day YouTube event
20 August 2020
This year, in lieu of its usual celebration at the Sydney Opera House, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) will post a 45-minute 'visual event' on its YouTube channel to celebrate...
Future Girl (Asphyxia, A&U)
19 August 2020
The events of Future Girl play out in a future Melbourne that is eerily plausible. Food has been largely replaced by recon, an all-in-one food replacement that is marketed as...
Aussie STEM Stars: Fiona Wood (Cristy Burne, Wild Dingo Press)
19 August 2020
‘Aussie STEM Stars’ is an exciting new narrative nonfiction series that celebrates experts in the fields of science, maths, engineering and technology. Book one centres on the story of Fiona...
Kamaleddine’s ‘The Truth About Luck’ wins inaugural Matilda Children’s Literature Prize
18 August 2020
Samera Kamaleddine has won HarperCollins Australia’s inaugural Matilda Children’s Literature Prize for her YA manuscript The Truth About Luck. Kamaleddine’s novel tells the story of a 16-year-old Lebanese–Australian Layla Karimi,...
‘Invisible Boys’ optioned for film and TV
18 August 2020
Director Nicholas Verso and producer Tania Chambers have optioned the film and television rights to Invisible Boys (Holden Sheppard, Fremantle Press), via Haylee Nash of the Nash Agency. The YA...
ANZ children’s illustrations to feature in ‘The Ickabog’
17 August 2020
Six Australians and four New Zealanders are among the 34 children whose artworks will illustrate the UK version of J K Rowling's The Ickabog (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)....
National Simultaneous Storytime 2021 to take place on International Space Station
17 August 2020
Philip Bunting's forthcoming picture book Give Me Some Space! (Scholastic, November) has been chosen for the Australian Library and Information Association’s (ALIA) National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) 2021, which will take...
NCACL launches First Nations children’s book resource
13 August 2020
The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (NCACL) has produced a new, freely accessible database of children’s books by and about Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Stage one,...
NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2020 winners announced
13 August 2020
The winners of the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced. New Zealand poet laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh’s first book for children, Mophead, took...
Piper Picks the Perfect Pet (Caroline Tuohey, illus by Nicky Johnston, Ford St)
12 August 2020
From the alliterative title alone, you know this picture book must be read out loud to the little ones. Piper Picks the Perfect Pet even rhymes, which will add to...
This One is Ours (Kate O’Donnell, UQP)
12 August 2020
In her second novel, Kate O’Donnell, author of Untidy Towns, delivers an insightful and earnest coming-of-age story brimming with humanity. This One is Ours takes readers on a romantic overseas...
