The Children's Book Council of Australia Awards was started by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) in 1946 with one category. [1] The awards have grown and now there are five categories in the Book of the Year Awards and numerous other awards presented annually by the National Office and CBCA branches in each State and Territory.
The winner of the inaugural award received a flower, "a camellia". [2] In more recent times the awards have been funded through Government grants (1966–1988), and lately by individual and corporation donations and sponsorships. The CBCA decided in 1995 to establish an Award Foundation to secure the funding for these awards for the future. [2]
Five award categories are selected annually. They are:
The CBCA Book of the Year awards are a literary award. Recognising that children themselves may have differing opinions on the books, the CBCA support several awards which seek to poll the views of children themselves.
Jennifer June Rowe,, is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson.
Morris Gleitzman is a British-born Australian author of children's and young adult fiction. He has gained recognition for sparking an interest in AIDS in his controversial novel Two Weeks with the Queen (1990).
Tohby Riddle is an Australian artist and writer/illustrator of picture books and illustrated books that have been published in many countries, and translated into many languages, around the world. His work has been translated by Haruki Murakami and he has been nominated for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Medal.
Jacqueline Anne French , known professionally as Jackie French, is an Australian author who has written across several genres for both adults and children. Her most notable works include Rain Stones, Diary of a Wombat, and The Girl from Snowy River. Several of her books have been recommended for teaching the Australian Curriculum. French lives in Braidwood, New South Wales, with her second husband Bryan Sullivan.
Margaret Wild is an Australian children's writer.
Nadia Wheatley is an Australian writer whose work includes picture books, novels, biography and history. Perhaps best known for her classic picture book My Place, the author's biography of Charmian Clift was described by critic Peter Craven as 'one of the greatest Australian biographies'. Another book by Wheatley is A Banner Bold, a historical novel.
The Nan Chauncy Award is an Australian children's literature award. It was initially established as a quinquennial award and is now presented biennially in the Children's Book Council Awards.
The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a not for profit organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians. The CBCA presents the annual Children's Book of the Year Awards to books of literary merit, recognising their contribution to Australian children's literature.
Michael Gerard Bauer is an Australian full-time children's and young adult author, and was formerly an English teacher.
Jack Heath is an Australian writer of fiction for children and adults who is best known for the Danger, Scream, Liars and Timothy Blake series. He has been shortlisted for the ACT Book of the Year Award, CBCA Notable Book Award, Nottinghamshire Brilliant Book Award, the Aurealis Sci-Fi book of the Year, the National Year of Reading "Our Story" Collection, a Young Australians Best Book Award, a Kids Own Australian Literature Award and the Australian of the Year Award. He lives in Gungahlin, Canberra.
Deborah Mary Niland is a New Zealand–born Australian artist, known as a writer and illustrator of children's books. Some of her most popular books include Annie's Chair, When The Wind Changed, Mulga Bill's Bicycle, and Chatterbox. In 2006 she won The Children's Book of the Year – Early Childhood, with her book Annie's Chair.
Deborah Abela is an Australian author of children's books, most notably the Max Remy, Super Spy series, Grimsdon and Teresa – A New Australian. She was born in Sydney, Australia, and has been writing for 15 years. She does the Virtual Book Week Dart Session for kids.
Kirsty Murray is an Australian author. Murray writes children's fiction with a focus on Australian history. She is known for the Children of the Wind series of children's novels. She is a recipient of the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction.
Possum Magic is a 1983 children's picture book by Australian author Mem Fox, and illustrated by Julie Vivas. It concerns a young female possum, named Hush, who becomes invisible and has a number of adventures. In 2001, a film was made by the American company Weston Woods and narrated by the author.
Rosanne Hawke is an Australian author from Penola, South Australia who has written over 25 books for young adults and children. She teaches tertiary level creative writing at Tabor Adelaide. She has a PhD in creative writing from the University of Adelaide.
Bren MacDibble is a New Zealand-born writer of children's and young adult books based in Australia. Bren also writes under the name Cally Black. She uses the alias to distinguish between books written for younger children and books written for young adults.
Fiona Anna Wood is an Australian writer of young adult fiction. She is a three-time winner of the Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers award.
Gabrielle Wang is an Australian writer and illustrator for children and young adults based in Melbourne. Her writing career spans 20 years and has produced more than 20 books.
