Self-published picture book series wins global pitching competition

Australian children’s book creators Yves Stening and Nigel Buchanan have won a pitching competition at the world’s biggest children’s entertainment industry event MIPJunior for their self-published picture book series ‘Dinner Detectives’ (distributed by Peribo).

The pair intends to develop a TV series based on the series, which seeks to ‘inspire healthy eating habits in children by feeding their curiosity, making discovering new foods an adventure, not a chore’. The books follow two characters as they travel back in time and around the world to uncover stories about the food we eat. (You can read a review of one of the titles here.)

Stening said their success at the pitching competition has opened the doors for further development and partnerships, and that they have ‘all kinds of spin-off ideas—a game and an app and a YouTube program’. ‘But what we really want to make is a TV series,’ he said.

In other children’s rights news, a new literary agency specialising in Australian children’s and YA books has recently launched. The Mayfair Literary Agency, run by lawyer and writer Justine Barker, will represent authors writing picture books, junior fiction, middle-grade and YA titles.

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

Category: Think Junior editorial