Local voices on a global stage

Two recent international rights successes for children’s books by Indigenous authors—Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina’s YA novel Catching Teller Crow (Allen & Unwin) selling into the UK and US, and a US deal for Sally Morgan’s board book I Love Me (illustrated by Ambelin Kwaymullina, Fremantle Press)—prompted Books+Publishing’s news editor Sarah Farquharson to investigate whether there was an underlying trend. She spoke to several Australian publishers and literary agents about the growing interest in Own Voices stories, the quality of Indigenous publishing, and the perception among international publishers that Indigenous-authored books are ‘too local in their appeal’. You can read Farquharson’s article here (paywall).

With the Bologna Children’s Book Fair just weeks away, the fair has announced the shortlists for its Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publisher of the Year. Three Australian publishers—Scholastic, Scribble Kids’ Books and EK Books—are in the running in the Oceania division. You can find a selection of children’s and YA titles from these three publishers, and many more, in the ‘Hello! From Australia’ catalogue.

Andrea Hanke
Editor
Think Australian
andrea@booksandpublishing.com.au

Category: Think Junior editorial