Publisher picks: Australian YA
Australian publishers pick their top YA offerings.
Carey Schroeter, rights and international sales manager, books for children and young adults at Allen & Unwin (A&U), will be attending Bologna in person alongside A&U publisher Anna McFarlane. Of A&U’s YA titles, Schroeter singles out Blood Moon Bride (Demet Divaroren, April 2025), which A&U says is perfect for fans of The Prison Healer (Lynette Noni, Penguin) and Children of Blood and Bone (Tomi Adeyemi, Macmillan).
According to A&U publisher Jodie Webster, Blood Moon Bride is ‘a fierce and impressive YA fantasy novel’ by the award-winning author of Living on Hope Street. In the book, every winter, on the night of the Blood Moon, young women enter forced marriages for the valley’s advancement and prosperity. But this year, Governor Kyra has decreed that girls of just 15 must become Blood Moon Brides, making Rehya eligible. ‘In a world where girls and women have few rights, rebellious Rehya fights back against an appallingly unjust society, entrenched inequality, political deception and unregulated power,’ says Webster, who promises it is ‘perfect for readers who want to change the world’.
Magabala Books will be represented at Bologna by editor Melena Cole-Manolis and rights manager Kate McCormack. Of Magabala’s YA offerings, the pair singles out Desert Tracks (Marly Wells & Linda Wells). ‘From award-winning authors, this time-travelling story gives a great introduction into the fascinating history of Central Australia,’ say Cole-Manolis and McCormack of the 2024 Daisy Utemorrah Award–winning novel.
Emma Dorph, rights, contracts and international sales manager at Hachette Australia, will be attending Bologna in person in 2025. In YA, she highlights a verse novel. ‘Acclaimed contemporary poet Robbie Coburn has penned the deeply moving The Foal in the Wire,’ says Dorph. ‘This novel-in-verse about love, survival, and the bonds between animals and humans will appeal to fans of Karen Comer’s Children’s Book Council of Australia [Book of the Year] Award–winning Grace Notes, from a young poet who has been featured at the Wheeler Centre, La Mama Poetica, and multiple national writers’ festivals.’
Fremantle Press will be represented by subagents at Bologna in 2025. Fremantle CEO Alex Allan highlights A Wreck of Seabirds (Karleah Olson) among the independent Western Australian publisher’s YA offerings. Says Allan: ‘The book was shortlisted for a Fogarty Literary Award, and has just been made a Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable book. We love the brooding, spooky, gothic layers of this extraordinary debut novel for young adults.’
YA recent acquisitions
Hunting Bears (Julianne Negri, second half 2025), world rights acquired by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWA Publishing), via Danielle Binks of Jacinta di Mase Management.
Hunting Bears is a ‘heart-wrenching verse novel for young adult readers that tackles the tough reality of suicide amongst teenagers,’ says UWA Publishing. The publisher adds that the book is ‘inspired by Julianne Negri’s personal loss of her friend Joanne when she was younger’, using children’s story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury to tell the story of protagonist ‘Dog’, who returns to school six months after her best friend, ‘Bear’, died by suicide. ‘Unflinching, emotional, and darkly funny at times, Hunting Bears is a collision of idyllic childhood memories, overwhelming grief, deep shame, escapism, friendship, love and teenage choices.’
The Pull of the Moon (Pip Smith, mid-2025), world rights acquired by UWA Publishing.
Inspired by the Janga/SIEV-221 tragedy in December 2010, The Pull of the Moon follows the story of Coralie, a 13-year-old girl who lives on Christmas Island, as she witnesses a refugee boat crashing into the cliffs of the island. On board is Ali, an 11-year-old Iranian refugee, whom Coralie searches for after the crash. ‘Told through multiple points of view, Smith’s novel interrogates what happens to children who experience trauma and are given no means to connect with those for whom they grieve,’ says the publisher.
Wandering Wild (Lynette Noni, April 2025), ANZ rights acquired by Penguin Random House, alongside rights to a new fantasy series by the author, in a deal brokered by Jennifer Azantian from Azantian Literary Agency.
Wandering Wild follows two teenagers from vastly different worlds who must put their enmity aside when they become stranded in the wilderness and have to rely on each other to survive. ‘Filled with a cast of diverse characters, beloved tropes, and relatable themes, this swoony YA survival story is perfect for readers wanting a high-stakes lost-in-the-wilderness adventure that’s also brimming with tension-filled romance,’ says the publisher.
Category: Think Australian feature
