CBCA Awards 2023 shortlists announced

The shortlists for this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced.

The shortlisted titles are:

Older readers

• Ask No Questions (Eva Collins, P&W)
• Completely Normal (and Other Lies) (Biffy James, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
• The Greatest Thing (Sarah Winifred Searle, A&U)
• Neverlanders (Tom Taylor, illus by Jon Sommariva, PRH)
• The Other Side of Tomorrow (Hayley Lawrence, Scholastic)
• What We All Saw (Mike Lucas, PRH)

Younger readers

• August & Jones (Pip Harry, Hachette)
• Evie and Rhino (Neridah McMullin, illus by Astred Hicks, Walker Books)
• The Raven’s Song (Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble, A&U)
• Runt (Craig Silvey, A&U)
• The Way of Dog (Zana Fraillon, illus by Sean Buckingham, UQP)
• Xavier in the Meantime (Kate Gordon, Riveted)

Early childhood

• Bev and Kev (Katrina Germein, illus by Mandy Foot, Little Book)
• Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
• Lionel and Me (Corinne Fenton, illus by Tracie Grimwood, New Frontier)
• Market Day (Carrie Gallasch, illus by Hannah Sommerville, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
• Snap! (Anna Walker, Scribble)
• Where the Lyrebird Lives (Vikki Conley, illus by Max Hamilton, Windy Hollow)

Picture book of the year

• Dirt by Sea (Tom Jellett, illus by Michael Wagner, PRH)
• Farmhouse (Sophie Blackall, Hachette)
• Frank’s Red Hat (Sean E Avery, Walker Books)
• My Strange Shrinking Parents (Zeno Sworder, T&H)
• Our Dreaming (Dub Leffler, illus by Kirli Saunders, Scholastic)
• Paradise Sands: A story of enchantment (Levi Pinfold, Walker Books)

Eve Pownall award

• A Is for Australian Reefs (Frané Lessac, Walker Books)
• Amazing Animal Journeys (Jennifer Cossins, Hachette)
• Come Together: Things every Aussie kid should know about the First Peoples (Isaiah Firebrace, illus by Jaelyn Biumaiwai, HG Explore)
• DEEP: Delve into hidden worlds (Jess McGeachin, Welbeck)
• Opal and Dart (Vianne Brain, illus by Clare Bradley, Forty South)
• Wild Australian Life (Leonard Cronin, illus by Chris Nixon, A&U)

CBCA award for new illustrator

• Australia: From dawn to dusk (Brentos, Affirm)
• The Best Hiding Place (Jane Godwin, illus by Sylvia Morris, Affirm)
• Naturopolis (Deborah Frenkel, illus by Ingrid Bartkowiak, Storytorch)
• There’s No Such Book (Jessica Dettmann, illus by Jake A Minton, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
• Tiny Wonders (Sally Soweol Han, UQP)
• We Are Australians (Duncan Smith & Nicole Godwin, illus by Jandamarra Cadd, Wild Dog).

CBCA national chair Wendy Rapee says, ‘This year we celebrate stories for our young people created by a diverse range of artists, including many new voices who display confidence with fresh approaches to storytelling.

‘Recently the media carried an outpouring of opinions and emotions around how stories for our children should reflect the values we share. We acknowledge the power of, and the ever-changing nature of language. Our awards for 77 years have always celebrated stories of relevance, we value highly stories that speak directly to the reader of their time,’ says Rapee.

The shortlisted books were chosen from the Notable Books list, which was announced in March.

The winners will be announced at noon AEST on 18 August, the day before Children’s Book Week, which runs from 19–25 August 2023 and is themed ‘read, grow, inspire’.

Young people from around Australia will be ‘shadow judging‘ to choose their own winners. Shadow judged winners will be announced at 10am AEST on 25 August.

For more information about the CBCA Awards, see the CBCA website.

Category: Awards Local news