ALA Youth Media Awards 2019: Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Stonewall
29 January 2019
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals. Meg Medina’s Merci Suárez Changes Gears (Candlewick)...
Dymocks launches Wiggles shop
25 January 2019
Chain retailer Dymocks has become the new retail partner for children’s entertainment group the Wiggles, offering a range of books and merchandise via a dedicated online store. Dymocks negotiated a...
Berbay sells board book series to US, UK
22 January 2019
Berbay Publishing has sold North American and UK rights to a series of three board books by Tokyo-based illustrator Chihiro Takeuchi. Catherine Drayton from InkWell Management sold North American and...
Children’s authors honoured on postage stamps
18 January 2019
Australia Post is honouring five children’s authors on its ‘Australian legends of children’s literature’ postage stamp series, as part of its 2019 Legends Awards. Authors and their books featured in...
‘Oliver’s Grumbles’ sold into China in small press’ first overseas rights sale
17 January 2019
Queensland-based small press Yellow Brick Books (YBB) has sold Chinese and Korean rights to Oliver’s Grumbles (Yvonne Mes, illus by Giuseppe Poli) in the emerging publisher’s first overseas rights deal. Negotiated by...
New database to celebrate diversity in children’s books
17 January 2019
The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literacy (NCACL) will this year launch a database for children’s literature, designed to help teachers, parents and readers to find books which highlight multiculturalism...
Alex Adsett agency lands multi-territory book deal for debut picture book
16 January 2019
Alex Adsett Literary Agency has sold rights in multiple territories to the debut picture book by Brisbane-based graphic designer Robert Hendersen. I See, I See is described as an immersive, hands-on...
Berbay sells three Canty picture books in China
16 January 2019
Berbay Publishing has sold simplified Chinese rights to three picture books in John Canty’s ‘Heads and Tails’ series to Dook. The series—comprising Heads and Tails, Heads and Tails Insects and...
Indie Book Awards 2019 shortlists announced
16 January 2019
Leading Edge Books has announced the 2019 Indie Book Awards shortlists, for the best Australian books published in 2018. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction The Lost Man (Jane...
Marsden awarded 2018 Dromkeen Medal
14 December 2018
The State Library Victoria (SLV) has awarded the 2018 Dromkeen Medal to author John Marsden. Marsden is the author of more than 40 books, including the ‘Tomorrow’ series, which is...
Rights People to represent Affirm Press kids list
5 December 2018
Affirm Press has engaged international agency Rights People to represent its kids list. Affirm sales and marketing director Keiran Rogers says he is anticipating more international rights sales as a...
Online store for self-published kids’ books runs as pilot project
4 December 2018
A new online store for self-published Australian picture books has launched as a pilot project. Self-published author Suzanne Barton launched the retail pilot, called Top Indie Kids’ Books, as a...
PRH sells ‘Kensy and Max’ series to US in four-book deal
4 December 2018
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has sold North American rights to Jacqueline Harvey’s children’s book series ‘Kensy and Max’ to Kane Miller Publishers. The four-book deal was brokered by Rights...
Pasifika dual-language resources win NZ award
28 November 2018
In New Zealand, a series of books published by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to help Pasifika children with literacy has won the Pacific Service Excellence Award, as part of...
Netflix to adapt Dahl classics into animated series
28 November 2018
Netflix has secured the rights to adapt many of Roald Dahl's works for screen, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, Matilda and George’s Marvellous Medicine (all Puffin). It also has plans to create a...
Berbay acquires middle-grade series by Louise Park
28 November 2018
Berbay Publishing has acquired world rights to a three-book middle-grade fiction series by Australian children's author Louise Park. The first book in the series, titled Grace's Castle, is a fast-paced time-slip adventure...
Children’s book boom: Alice Grundy on the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair
21 November 2018
As part of the Shanghai Visiting International Publishers Project, Brio Books associate publisher Alice Grundy travelled to China to attend the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair (9-11 November). She...
Harry Cook’s debut YA novel acquired by Scottish small press
19 November 2018
Scottish independent publisher Black & White Publishing has acquired world rights to the debut novel by Australian actor and LGBTQIA+ activist Harry Cook. A romance set in small-town Australia, Fin...
‘Optical Illusions’ wins Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
19 November 2018
In the UK, Optical Illusions by visual artist and author pair Gianni A Sarcone and Marie-Jo Waeber (Quarto) has won the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize for the best...
Chapman wins HGE Ampersand Prize for YA novel ‘What it Takes’
16 November 2018
Sydney-based journalist Frances Chapman has won Hardie Grant Egmont’s (HGE) Ampersand Prize for an unpublished manuscript for her ‘vibrant’ YA novel, What it Takes. Chosen from nearly 200 submissions, What...
‘Invisible Boys’ wins T A G Hungerford Award
16 November 2018
Perth-based YA writer Holden Sheppard has won the 2018 City of Fremantle T A G Hungerford Award for an unpublished manuscript for Invisible Boys, a YA novel about a group...
Australian Family Therapists’ Award for children’s literature 2018 winners announced
13 November 2018
The winners of the 2018 Australian Family Therapists’ Award for children’s literature have been announced. The winners are The Build-up Season by Megan Jacobson (Penguin) and Finding Nevo by Nevo...
KROC Awards 2018 winners announced
12 November 2018
The winners of the 2018 Kids Reading Oz Choice (KROC) Awards, the children’s choice book awards for the Northern Territory, have been announced. The winning titles are: Picture storybooks Do...
Speech Pathology Australia book awards 2018 winners announced
12 November 2018
The winners of the 2018 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards have been announced. Chosen from shortlists announced in July, the winning titles are: Birth to three years...
‘Florette’ named on 2018 NYT/NYPL Best Illustrated Children’s Books list
9 November 2018
Melbourne-based writer and illustrator Anna Walker's picture book Florette (Viking) has been named as one of the New York Times (NYT)/New York Public Library's (NYPL) best illustrated children's books for 2018....
Environment Award for Children’s Literature 2018 winners announced
9 November 2018
The Wilderness Society has announced the winners of the 2018 Environment Award for Children’s Literature. The winners are: Picture fiction Florette (Anna Walker, Viking) Fiction Wombat Warriors (Samantha Wheeler, UQP) Nonfiction...
KOALAs 2018 winners announced
9 November 2018
The winners of the 2018 Kids Own Australian Literature Awards (KOALAs), the children’s choice book awards for New South Wales, have been announced. The winners and honour books in each...
Australians nominated for 2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals
7 November 2018
A number of Australian authors and illustrators have been nominated for the 2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals. Australian books including A Different Boy by Paul Jennings and Geoff Kelly (A&U)...
Lifelong learning: Younger readers editions
1 November 2018
Kelsey Oldham investigates the role played by younger readers editions in the growth of children’s nonfiction. It’s a well-established fact that adult nonfiction titles sell strongly in Australia. In 2018...
New specialist kids agency launched
1 November 2018
Lawyer and writer Justine Barker has launched a new literary agency focusing on children’s and YA books. Mayfair Literary Agency will represent authors writing picture books, junior fiction, middle-grade and...
