News

Margaret McDonald has won the Branford Boase Award for the outstanding debut novel of the year with Glasgow Boys.

The Carnegies have been announced.

Margaret McDonald was announced as the Carnegie Medal for Writing winner, for her “life changing and emotional” novel Glasgow Boys (Faber). 

The winner of the Carnegie Medal for Illustration is Olivia Lomenech Gill for Clever Crow, written by Chris Butterworth (Walker Books)

The winners of the UKLA Awards have been announced.

Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald was winner in 11-14+ category.
Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan’s was winner in the 7-10 category.
Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin, was the winner in the 3-6+ category
Brilliant Black British History, written by Atinuke  and illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi was the winner in the Information Books 3-14+ category.

The aim of this award is to increase the understanding and appreciation of history by children. These seven titles are outstanding works of historical fiction for children, demonstrating literary merit, historical accuracy, and appeal to young readers.

11 Ruby Road 1925 by Charlotte Barkla, Walker Books Australia
All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad, ABC Books
Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars by Catherine Norton, HarperCollins AU
Marion and the Forty Thieves by Sarah Luke, National Library of Australia
Ming and Ada Spark the Digital Age (The Girls Who Changed the World #4) by Jackie French, HarperCollins AU
Outlaw Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman, Text Publishing
Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger by Jackie French, HarperCollins AU

The Aurealis Awards for 2024 releases have been announced. Of particular interest:

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Winner
Anomaly by Emma Lord

Shortlist
Plagued Lands by Nikki Brooke
Aisle Nine by Ian X Cho
They Watch From Below by Katya de Becerra
Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

Winner
The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble

Shortlist
Andromache Between Worlds by Gabriel Bergmoser
The Bother with the Bonkillyknock Beast by Karen Foxlee & Freda Chiu (ill.)
Landovel by Emily Rodda
The Midwatch by Judith Rossel
Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria by L M Wilkinson & Lavanya Naidu

Branford Boase Award shortlist 2025 has been announced. The six shortlisted books are:

Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm by Ash Bond
The Boy in the Suit by James Fox
Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence
All the Hidden Monsters by Amie Jordan 
Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald
The Boy to Beat the Gods by Ashley Thorpe

NSW Literary Awards shortlists have been announced. Of special interest:

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature shortlist 2025

The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenke
Leo and Ralph by Peter Carnavas 
In My Blood It Runs by Dujuan Hoosan, Margaret Anderson and Carol Turner 
The Other Shadow by Tania Ingram 
Ultrawild by Steve Mushin 
Silver Linings by Katrina Nannestad 

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature shortlist 2025

Smoke & Mirrors by Barry Jonsberg 
Birdy by Sharon Kernot 
Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina 
Anomaly by Emma Lord
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

The shortlists for the CBCA Book Awards have been announced:

Book of the Year Awards Older Readers shortlistA Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson (Fremantle Press)
Birdy by Sharon Kernot (Text Publishing) 
Comes the Night by Isobelle Carmody (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults) 
I’m Not Really Here by Gary Lonesborough (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults) 
Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing) 
The Skin I’m In by Steph Tisdell (Macmillan Australia) 

Book of the Year Awards Younger Readers shortlist
Aggie Flea Steals the Show by Tania Ingram, illustrated by A. Yi (Scholastic Australia) 
Fluff: Mess Up! by Matt Stanton, illustrated by Matt Stanton (ABC Books) 
Laughter is the Best Ending by Maryam Master, illustrated by Astred Hicks (Pan Australia)
Saskia Spark-Lee: Fundraiser Fail by Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg, illustrated by Sofya Karmazina (Walker Books Australia)
Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger by Jackie French (HarperCollins AU) 
To and Fro by Anton Clifford-Motopi (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults) 

Book of the Year Awards Early Childhood shortlist
Don’t Worry, Felix by Yohann Devezy & Katharine Alice, illustrated by Zoe Bennett (New Frontier Publishing)
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tooth Fairy (And Some Things You Didn’t) by Briony Stewart (Lothian Children’s Books) 
How to Move a Zoo by Kate Simpson, illustrated by Owen Swan (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
One Little Dung Beetle by Rhian Williams, illustrated by Heather Potter & Mark Jackson (Wild Dog Books) 
Spiro by Anna McGregor (Scribble) 
The Wobbly Bike by Darren McCallum, illustrated by Craig Smith (Walker Books Australia) 

Book of the Year Awards Picture Book of the Year shortlist
Afloat by Freya Blackwood, text by Kirli Saunders (Little Hare)
The Garden of Broken Things by Freya Blackwood (HarperCollins AU) 
A Leaf Called Greaf by Kelly Canby (Fremantle Press) https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/a-leaf-called-greaf
These Long-Loved Things by Ronojoy Ghosh, text by Josh Pyke (Scholastic Australia)
The Truck Cat by Danny Snell, text by Deborah Frenkel (Bright Light)
We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold (Thames & Hudson Australia) 

Book of the Year Awards Eve Pownall Award shortlist
Always Was, Always Will Be by Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson (Magabala Books) 
Design & Building on Country by Alison Page & Paul Memmott, illustrated by Blak Douglas (Thames & Hudson Australia) 
Flora: Australia’s Most Curious Plants by Tania McCartney (NLA Publishing)
I am a Magpie, I am a Currawong by Bridget Farmer (Black Cockatoo Books)
Making the Shrine: Stories From Victoria’s War Memorial by Laura J Carroll (The Crossley Press)
South With the Seabirds by Jess McGeachin (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)

Book of the Year Awards New Illustrator shortlist
A Teaspoon of Light, Nisaluk Chantanakom (WestWords)
Digger Digs Down, Huni Melissa Bolliger (University of Queensland Press) 
Grow Big, Little Seed, Sarah Capon (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Peek-a-Boo Lottie, Kristen Willis (Five Mile Books)
Raymangirrbuy dhäwu, When I was a little girl, Kylie Gatjawarrawuy Mununggurr (Magabala Books) 
The Land Recalls You, David Cragg & Noni Cragg (Scholastic Australia)

The 2025 shortlists for the Carnegie Medals have been announced.
 
The Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist is here.

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist is here. 

2025 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) shortlists have been announced. The awards are presented for achievements in bringing Australian books to readers. Of special interest are:

The John Marsden Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)

Anomaly, Emma Lord (Affirm Press)
Comes the Night, Isobelle Carmody (Allen & Unwin)
Eleanor Jones Can’t Keep a Secret, Amy Doak (Penguin)
The Girl with No Reflection, Keshe Chow (Penguin, Penguin Random House Australia)
Immortal Dark, Tigest Girma (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
My Family and Other Suspects, Kate Emery (Allen & Unwin)

Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7–12)

The 113th Assistant Librarian, Stuart Wilson (Penguin, Penguin Random House Australia)
All the Beautiful Things, Katrina Nannestad (ABC Kids, HarperCollins Publishers)
Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria, LM Wilkinson, illus by Lavanya Naidu (Albert Street)
The Lost Book of Magic, Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press)
The Midwatch, Judith Rossell (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Wurrtoo, Tylissa Elisara, illus by Dylan Finney (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)

Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0–6)

The Cheeky Toddler Alphabet, Davina Bell, illus by Jennifer Falkner (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Fairy Beach, Sheila Knaggs, illus by Jennifer Falkner (Affirm Press)
To Stir with Love, Kate Mildenhall, illus by Jess Racklyeft (Simon & Schuster Australia)
The Truck Cat, Deborah Frenkel, illus by Danny Snell (Bright Light, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Over or Under?, Pip Harry, illus by Hilary Jean Tapper (Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Yanga Mother, Cheryl Leavy, illus by Christopher Bassi (UQP, University of Queensland Press)

The 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. Of special interest:

Prize for children's Literature

Three Dresses by Wanda Gibson (winner)

The 113th Assistant Librarian by Stuart Wilson (short list)
Listen, Hippo! by Gabriel Evans (short list)
The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (short list)

Highly recommended:

How to Free a Jinn by Raidah Shah Idil
Squishbook by Ben Hutchings

Prize for writing for young adults

Anomaly by Emma Lord (winner)

Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina (short list)
Smoke & Mirrors by Barry Jonsberg (short list)

Highly recommended:

One By One They Disappear by Mike Lucas
The Skin I’m In by Steph Tisdell

The Children's Book Council of Australia have announced the 2025 Notable Books. Many have been reviewed by ReadPlus and can be found here.

The 2025 Indie Book Awards shortlists have been announced. Of special interest:

CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST

To Stir with Love by Kate Mildenhall, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft (Simon & Schuster Australia)
All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad (ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia)
The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (Hardie Grant Children's Publishing)
The 113th Assistant Librarian by Stuart Wilson (Penguin Australia)

YOUNG ADULT SHORTLIST

Comes the Night by Isobelle Carmody (Allen & Unwin Children's)
Eleanor Jones Can’t Keep a Secret by Amy Doak (Penguin Australia)
My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery (Allen & Unwin Children's)
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma (Lothian Children's Books)

The 2025 shortlists for Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. Of special interest:

Prize for children's Literature shortlist

The 113th Assistant Librarian by Stuart Wilson
Listen, Hippo! by Gabriel Evans
The Midwatch by Judith Rossell
Three Dresses by Wanda Gibson

Highly recommended:

How to Free a Jinn by Raidah Shah Idil
Squishbook by Ben Hutchings

Prize for writing for young adults shortlist

Anomaly by Emma Lord
Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Smoke & Mirrors by Barry Jonsberg

Highly recommended:

One By One They Disappear by Mike Lucas
The Skin I’m In by Steph Tisdell