It is awards season in the Australian book industry, and I have been a bit remiss in not posting about the various short lists and awards announced in recent weeks. So, here’s a wrap-up.
Firstly, the Notable books and shortlists for the annual CBCA Children’s Book of the Year Awards was announced. These books will now be read, discussed, debated on and generally lauded by teachers, librarians, industry people and, of course children, until the winners are announced in August. The shortlists are as follows:
Older Readers
The Ink Bridge, by Neil Grant (Allen & Unwin)
Sea Hearts, by Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
The Shiny Guys, by Doug MacLeod (Penguin)
Creepy & Maud, by Dianne Touchell (Fremantle Press)
Friday Brown, by Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing)
The Wrong Boy, by Suzy Zail (Black Dog/Walker)
Younger Readers
Pennies for Hitler, by Jackie French (Angus & Robertson, HarperCollins)
Other Brother, by Simon French (Walker Books)
After, by Morris Gleitzman (Penguin)
Children of the King, by Sonia Hartnett (Penguin)
Pookie Aleera is Not my Boyfriend, by Steven Herrick (University of Queensland Press
The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk, by Glenda Millard Ill. Stephen Michael King (HarperCollins)
Early Childhood
The Terrible Suitcase, by Emma Allen Ill. Freya Blackwood (Omnibus)
With Nan, by Tania Cox Ill. Karen Blair (Windy Hollow Books)
The Pros & Cons of Being a Frog, by Sue DeGennaro (Scholastic Australia)
Too Many Elephants in This House, by Ursula Dubosarsky Ill. Andrew Joyner (Penguin)
It’s a Miroocool! by Christine Harris Ill. Ann James (Little Hare)
Peggy, by Anna Walker (Scholastic)
Picture Book
The Coat, Ron Brooks, Ron Text: Julie Hunt (Allen & Unwin)
Tanglewood, Vivienne Goodman, Text: Margaret Wild (Omnibus)
Herman and Rosie, Gus Gordon (Penguin)
Sophie Scott Goes South, Alison Lester (Penguin)
Lightning Jack, Patricia Mullins, Text: Glenda Millard (Scholastic)
A Day to Remember Mark Wilson, Text: Jackie French (Harper Collins)
Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
Python, by Christopher Cheng & Mark Jackson (Walker Books)
Lyrebird! A True Story, by Jackie Kerin, Ill. Peter Gouldthorpe (Museum Victoria)
Topsy-turvy World: How Australian Animals Puzzled Early Explorers (Kirsty Murray) (National Library of Australia)
Portrait of Spain for Kids (Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art)
Tom the Outback Mailman , by Krisin Weidenbach, Kristin Ill. Timothy Ide (Lothian)
Announced on the same day, was the shortlist for the Chrichton Award for a new illustrator, an award administered by the Victorian branch of the CBCA.:
The Whale Shark Song, by Sadie James (Cabarita Publishing)
Ruby Red Shoes, by Kate Knapp (Angus & Robertson, HarperCollins)
A Forest, by Marc Martin (Viking Books, Penguin Group)
Yellow Dress Day, Ill by Sophie Norsa Text: Michelle Worthington (New Frontier Publishing)
Apollo The Powerful Owl, Ill by Stephen Pym Text:Gordon Winch (New Frontier Publishing)
One Very Tired Wombat, by Renee Treml (Random House Australia)
In the same week, the shortlists for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards were announced, including:
Christina Stead Prize (Fiction, $40,000)
The Voyage, Murray Bail (Text Publishing)
The Daughters of Mars, Tom Keneally (Random House Australia)
Foal’s Bread, Gillian Mears (Allen & Unwin)
Cold Light, Frank Moorhouse (Random House Australia)
Mateship with Birds, Carrie Tiffany (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Animal People, Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)
UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000)
Eleven Seasons, Paul D. Carter (Allen & Unwin)
The Burial, Courtney Collins (Allen & Unwin)
Sufficient Grace, Amy Espeseth (Scribe)
Running Dogs, Ruby Murray (Scribe)
The Weight of a Human Heart, Ryan O’Neill (Black Inc.)
The Last Thread, Michael Sala (Affirm Press)
Douglas Stewart Prize (Non-fiction, $40,000)
Exile: The Lives and Hopes of Werner Pelz, Roger Averill (Transit Lounge)
Ben Jonson: A Life, Ian Donaldson (Oxford University Press)
Dark Night: Walking with McCahon, Martin Edmond (Auckland University Press)
The Biggest Estate on Earth, Bill Gammage (Allen & Unwin)
Double Entry, Jane Gleeson-White (Allen & Unwin)
The Office: A Hard Working History, Gideon Haigh (Melbourne University Publishing)
Kenneth Slessor Prize (Poetry, $30,000)
Ruby Moonlight, Ali Cobby-Eckermann (Magabala Books)
First Light, Kate Fagan (Giramondo)
Open Sesame, Michael Farrell (Giramondo)
The Welfare of My Enemy, Anthony Lawrence (Puncher & Wattman)
Ladylike, Kate Lilley (UWA Publishing)
Here, There and Elsewhere, Vivian Smith (Giramondo)
Patricia Wrightson Prize (Children’s Literature, $30,000)
The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon, Aaron Blabey (Penguin Group Australia)
Brotherband 1: The Outcasts, John Flanagan (Random House Australia)
Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend, Steven Herrick (University of Queensland Press)
A Bear and a Tree, Stephen Michael King (Penguin Group Australia)
The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk: Kingdom of Silk Series # 6, Glenda Millard (author) and Stephen Michael King (illustrator) (HarperCollins Australia)
Dragonkeeper Book 4: Blood Brothers, Carole Wilkinson (Walker Books Australia)
Ethel Turner Prize (Young People’s Literature, $30,000)
Three Summers, Judith Clarke (Allen & Unwin)
The Ink Bridge, Neil Grant (Allen & Unwin)
Sea Hearts, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
A Corner of White, Jaclyn Moriarty (Pan Macmillan Australia)
Into that Forest, Louis Nowra (Allen & Unwin)
Unforgotten, Tohby Riddle (Allen & Unwin)
Nick Enright Prize (Playwriting, $30,000)
The Damned, Reg Cribb (Black Swan State Theatre Company)
Return to Earth, Lally Katz (Currency Press, Melbourne Theatre Company)
Day One. A Hotel, Evening, Joanna Murray-Smith (Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre)
Happy Ending, Melissa Reeves (Melbourne Theatre Company)
Food, Steve Rodgers (Belvoir, Force Majeure)
A Hoax, Rick Viede (Currency Press, La Boit Theatre Co, Griffin Theatre Co)
Betty Roland Prize (Scriptwriting, $30,000)
Rake (Season 2 Episode 4): R v Floyd, Andrew Knight (ABC TV / Essential Media Entertainment)
The Left to Die Boat, Sharon Davis & Geoffrey Parish (ABC Radio National)
Dead Europe, Louise Fox (See-saw films)
Burning Man, Jonathan Teplitzky (Meercat films)
Community Relations Commission for a multicultural NSW Award ($20,000)
All Windows Open and Other Stories, Hariklia Heristanidis (Clouds of Magellan)
Don’t Go Back to Where You Came From, Tim Soutphommasane (New South Publishing)
Beneath the Darkening Sky, Majok Tulba (Penguin Group Australia)
Anguli Ma: A Gothic Tale, Chi Vu (Giramondo)
NSW Premier’s Translation Prize ($30,000)
Mr Peter Boyle
Ms Alison Entrekin
Professor Brian Nelson
Professor Ouyang Yu
Also announced was the winner of the inaugural Stella Prize for a book by an Australian woman.
The winner, from a very strong shortlist was
Mateship with Birds – Carrie Tiffany (Picador)
The remaining shortlistees were:
The Burial – Courtney Collins (Allen & Unwin)
Questions of Travel – Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin)
The Sunlit Zone – Lisa Jacobson (Five Islands Press)
Like a House on Fire – Cate Kennedy (Scribe Publications)
Sea Hearts – Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin)
Finally, today the shortlist for the Australian Book Industry Awards were announced. The book category shortlists were:
Illustrated Book of the Year
Australian War Memorial (Australian War Memorial, A&U)
Luke Nguyen’s Greater Mekong (Luke Nguyen, Hardie Grant)
The Lost Diggers (Ross Coulthart, HarperCollins)
Lake Eyre (Paul Lockyer, HarperCollins)
What Katie Ate (Kate Quinn Davies, Lantern)
The Little Veggie Patch Co’s Guide to Backyard Farming (Fabian Capomolla & Mat Pember, Plum)
Biography of the Year
On Warne (Gideon Haigh, Penguin)
True North (Brenda Niall, Text)
My Journey (Jim Stynes & Warrick Green, Michael Joseph)
Exit Wounds (John Cantwell & Greg Bearup, MUP)
Quarterly Essay 47, Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott (David Marr, Black Inc.)
Eugenia (Mark Tedeschi, S&S)
Gina Rinehart (Adele Ferguson, Macmillan)
General Nonfiction Book of the Year
The Essential Leunig (Michael Leunig, Viking)
QF32 (Richard de Crespigny, Macmillan)
The People Smuggler (Robin de Crespigny, Viking)
Black Caviar (Gerard Whateley, ABC Books)
Speechless: A Year in My Father’s Business (James Button, MUP)
Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East (Benjamin Law, Black Inc.)
Book of the Year for Younger Children (age range zero to eight years)
Owl Know How (Cat Rabbit & Isobel Knowles, Thames & Hudson)
Today We Have No Plans (Jane Godwin, illus by Anna Walker, Viking)
The Gobbledygook is Eating a Book (Justine Clarke & Arthur Baysting, illus by Tom Jellett, Viking)
Sophie Scott Goes South (Alison Lester, Viking)
Little Elephants (Graeme Base, Viking)
Good Night Sleep Tight (Mem Fox, illus by Judy Horacek, Scholastic)
The Very Hungry Bear (Nick Bland, Scholastic)
Book of the Year for Older Children (age range eight to 14 years)
Children of the King (Sonya Hartnett, Viking)
After (Morris Gleitzman, Viking)
The Curious Dictionary: Word Hunters (Nick Earls & Terry Whidborne, UQP)
Alice-Miranda in New York (Jacqueline Harvey, Random House)
The 26-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths, illus by Terry Denton, Pan)
Literary Fiction Book of the Year
Questions of Travel (Michelle de Kretser, A& U)
Floundering (Romy Ash, Text)
The Light Between Oceans (M L Stedman, Vintage)
Lola Bensky (Lily Brett, Hamish Hamilton)
The Daughters of Mars (Tom Keneally, Vintage)
The Mountain (Drusilla Modjeska, Vintage)
General Fiction Book of the Year
Secrets of the Tides (Hannah Richell, Hachette)
Jack of Diamonds (Bryce Courtenay, Viking)
Nine Days (Toni Jordan, Text)
The Secret Keeper (Kate Morton, A&U)
The Mothers’ Group (Fiona Higgins, A&U)
The Amber Amulet (Craig Silvey, A&U)
Newcomer of the Year (debut writer)
The People Smuggler (Robin de Crespigny, Viking)
Secrets of the Tides (Hannah Richell, Hachette)
The Light Between Oceans (M L Stedman, Vintage)
Black Caviar (Gerard Whateley, ABC Books)
Floundering (Romy Ash, Text).
Congratulations to all those shortlisted, some multiple times. I’m sure I’ve missed some awards, and for that I apologise. Will attempt to keep more up to date.