Gift of the Blab: An interview with Aaron Blabey
30 October 2018
Aaron Blabey is the creator of the ‘Pig the Pug’ and ‘The Bad Guys’ series. Kelsey Oldham asks the author about his success. You’re known for your prolific output, which...
A right royal romance: Emma Grey on ‘Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess’
30 October 2018
Emma Grey’s Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess (HarperCollins, December) follows an 18-year-old aspiring writer who wins a six-week internship at a top London PR firm, and somehow gets wrapped...
Sister act: The story of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop
30 October 2018
Co-owner Mary Wadsworth tells the story of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1965 Dorothy Butler established the bookshop that my sister Helen and I now...
‘Real Pigeons’ series sold to US in three-book deal
29 October 2018
Hardie Grant Egmont (HGE) has sold North American rights to three books in the ‘Real Pigeons’ series (Andrew McDonald, illus by Ben Wood) to Random House Children’s Books, following a...
Fremantle sells world English rights to Sally Morgan board book ‘I Love Me’
25 October 2018
Fremantle Press has sold world English-language rights to Sally Morgan’s board book I Love Me (illus by Ambelin Kwaymullina) to Andrews McMeel Publishing, part of Andrews McMeel Universal (AMU), in...
Australian children’s books shortlisted for Japan’s Sakura Medal
24 October 2018
Five Australian children's books have been shortlised for Japan's Sakura Medal. Jeannie Baker's picture book Circle (Walker) has been nominated in the picture books category, while in the chapter books category, Paul...
2019 Scribblers Festival Schools Program announced
19 October 2018
The program for the Scribblers Festival Schools Program, which runs from 8-10 May 2019 in Claremont, Western Australia, has been announced. Launched last year, Scribblers Festival celebrates children’s literature and...
Redgum Book Club acquires school book fair provider Central Book Suppliers
19 October 2018
Redgum Book Club has acquired school book fair provider Central Book Suppliers (CBS). Established in 2014, Redgum provides in-school book clubs to schools nationwide, with emphasis on Australian authors, illustrators...
Affirm acquires middle-grade debut at auction; opens unsolicited submissions for kids list
18 October 2018
Affirm Press has acquired middle-grade novel Hattie Maxwell and the Library of Lost Words by debut Melbourne author Julianne Negri at auction via Jacinta di Mase Management. The story follows...
‘Dinner Detectives’ creators win global pitching competition
17 October 2018
Australian children’s book creators Yves Stening and Nigel Buchanan have won a pitching competition at the world’s biggest children’s entertainment industry event, MIPJunior, reports the Herald Sun. Stening and Buchanan’s...
Hachette to launch ‘Fortnite’ publishing program
16 October 2018
Hachette Australia, in association with Hachette divisions in the UK, USA, France and Spain, has announced a publishing program based on the popular game Fortnite. In a deal brokered by International...
ANZ authors nominated for 2019 Astrid Lindgren Award
15 October 2018
Ten authors and illustrators from Australia and New Zealand and one Australian organisation have been nominated for the 2019 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. The Australian nominees are: Randa Abdel-Fattah Ursula...
Allen, Blackadder awarded 2018 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship
15 October 2018
Screenwriter Jane Allen and author Jesse Blackadder have been jointly awarded the 2018 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship. Allen and Blackadder will travel to Antarctica in late October, staying at the...
Aussie children’s book creators chosen to pitch at global kids entertainment event
12 October 2018
Australian children’s book creators Yves Stening and Nigel Buchanan are one of five intellectual property owners selected to pitch at the world's biggest children's entertainment industry event, MIPJunior. Held on...
HarperCollins signs Blackwood in two-book deal
11 October 2018
HarperCollins has signed a two-book deal with children's book illustrator Freya Blackwood. The first book in the deal is a yet-to-be-titled picture book about a girl and her pig, due...
NZ picture book on Trump sold to UK
10 October 2018
New Zealand publisher Millwood Press has sold UK, Irish and Australian rights to picture book Dear Donald Trump (Sophie Siers, illus by Anne Villeneuve) to Bonnier Books UK imprint Templar...
‘Alice-Miranda’ animated telemovie in production
10 October 2018
SLR Productions has commenced production on an animated telemovie based on Jacqueline Harvey's Alice-Miranda (Random House Children's) series of children's books, reports Mediaweek. Originally announced as a TV series comprising...
State Library of NSW opens dedicated children’s learning centre
3 October 2018
The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) has opened a new purpose-built children's learning centre, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Facilitated by a $1 million donation to SLNSW, the John B...
Vu, Thomas win 2018 Inky Awards
2 October 2018
Peter Vu and Angie Thomas have won the 2018 Inky Awards, presented by the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria. Peter Vu’s Paper Cranes Don’t Fly...
Diversity reforms introduced at Carnegie, Greenaway awards following review
1 October 2018
The UK’s Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has made several changes to the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway awards, following an independently chaired diversity review, reports the Bookseller....
Vivas to join Hardie Grant Egmont as publisher
26 September 2018
Hardie Grant Egmont (HGE) has appointed Ana Vivas to the newly created role of publisher. In her new role at HGE she will 'champion the picture books and children's fiction...
UK children’s book market reports growth; YA down 22%, children’s nonfiction up 10.2%
25 September 2018
In the UK, the children's book market has reported steady growth between August 2017 and August 2018, reports the Bookseller. The children's market has shown overall growth of 0.7% by...
PRH offers $100k funding for kids’ booksellers amid Puffin brand revival
20 September 2018
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has announced it will offer a total of $100,000 in funding to booksellers that run children’s reading programs. Australian bookstores with a dedicated children’s book...
‘Ottilie Colter’ sells for ‘record’ sum in three-book German deal
19 September 2018
Hardie Grant Egmont has sold German-language rights to Rhiannon Williams’ Ottilie Colter and the Narroway Hunt, plus two further books by Williams, to Random House Germany imprint cbj Verlag, after a...
The Little Bookroom to hold kids book festival in Melbourne
18 September 2018
Melbourne children’s bookshop The Little Bookroom will hold its first kids book festival in October, called Kids Book Fest. Held at the Fitzroy Town Hall, the one-day event will feature...
Dymocks launches education business Potentia
13 September 2018
Australian bookselling chain Dymocks has launched a new education business called Potentia. Potentia will run tutoring programs for school students across a broad range of subjects including maths and English....
Australian publishers report interest in parenting, children’s titles in Beijing
12 September 2018
Independent Australian publishers attending the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), running from 22-26 August, have reported interest in the categories of children's, parenting, and education. Ventura Press director Jane Curry...
Lush announced as SWF head of children’s & YA programs
11 September 2018
The Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) has appointed Amelia Lush as its new head of children's and YA programs. Lush has been a children's and YA bookseller in Sydney for 10...
Orr, Groth named as finalists in Canadian children’s book awards
10 September 2018
Two Australian authors are among the finalists of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s (CCBC) children’s book awards. Dragonfly Song (A&U) by Canadian-born Australian author Wendy Orr has been shortlisted for the...
New short story prize launched for adults writing for children
6 September 2018
Australian children’s literature electronic magazine Buzz Words has launched a new short story prize for adults writing for children. The Buzz Words Short Story Prize ‘celebrates excellence in short story writing...
