Children's Book Council Australia Queensland Book Week Dinner 2014

Children's Book Week is in full swing across Australia. from 16 to 22 August. The day before Children's Book Week, the winners of the Book of the Year Awards 2014 were announced.

The CBCA Book of the Year Awards have been going since 1946 and have been celebrating Australian Children's Books since then.

The winners:

Older Readers:
Wildlife
by Fiona Wood
Published by Pan Macmillan Australia

Younger Readers:
City of Orphans: A Very Unusual Persuit
by Catherine Jinks
Published by Allen & Unwin

Early Childhood
The Swap
by Jan Ormerod, illustrated by Andrew Joyner
Published by Little Hare, Hardie Grant Egmont

Picture Book
Rules of Summer
by Shaun Tan
Published by Hachette Australia

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
Jeremy
by Christopher Faille, illustrated by Danny Snell
Published by Working Title Press


For a full list including the notables, check here.


For me this was a great night out and an opportunity to celebrate Australian children's books with friends. Here is a short account of what happened on the night.

Mia Macrossan CBCA Queensland judge

Mia Macrossan  CBCA QLD president hosted the evening in fabulous style.

Not only is Mia Macrossan CBCA QLD president, vice-president of Book Links Inc., honourary member of my writer's group, Write Links, but she is also the CBCA QLD Book of the Year Judge, 2013-2014.

I was able to sit in on a couple of Mia's fabulous Judge's talks this year and last. Mia exudes passion for children's books and has seemingly unlimited knowledge of children's  authors and illustrators and has an informed and passionate opinion on everything form book ends to YA dystopian characters.

Mia received an original print by Kerry Argent and a copy of the special 30th anniversary edition of One Wooly Wombat for her time as CBCA Book judge.

The Engibear's Bridge team and Write Links members. From left to right: Ben Johnston, Jenny Stubbs, Rebecca Sheraton, Sam Sochacka, Yvonne Mes, Peter, Melanie Hill, Andrew King

Author Andrew King and Illustrator Benjamin Johnston together with publisher Peter from Little Step pre-launched their new picture book Engibear's Bridge. A review of the book and interview with illustrator Ben Johnston will be on the blog soon.

Christine Bongers inspired us all. She talked about her latest book, Intruder, and the importance of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards to her career as a YA writer and to Australian children's books. Her book Dust was a 2010 notable and Henry Hoey Hobson was shortlisted in 2011. I could have listened to her much longer.

I much more in my element this year as opposed to my rather star struck and slightly embarrassing experience the previous year. You can read about  that here: What I Learned at the CBCA Awards Book Week Dinner.