We’re very excited to reveal this year’s shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize!

The six shortlisted books are:

• Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai
• The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble
• Wombat, Mudlark & Other Stories by Helen Milroy
• Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery by Renée Treml
• The Girl, the Cat & the Navigator by Matilda Woods & illustrated by Anuska Allepuz
• The Secrets of Magnolia Moon by Edwina Wyatt & illustrated by Katherine Quinn

The judges commented: “This year’s shortlist reflects the rich array of children’s publishing in Australia: there is a book for every child here. Beginner readers will delight in a highly appealing and hilarious graphic novel; more advanced readers will be captivated by a gripping, action-packed tale touching on climate crisis, and a moving novel that incorporates comics in its exploration of grief and immigration. Families will discover some great read-alouds: Indigenous fables, a timeless adventure, a single transformative year for a nine-year-old. Each book on this shortlist is of the highest quality and digs into themes relevant to young people; we predict these books will be adored by readers.”

Read the full judges' report here.

Much-loved children’s and young adult writer Nova Weetman will join the panel as a guest judge to help select the winner from the shortlist. The winner will be announced online in late April, and will receive $3,000 in prize money.

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About the Readings Children’s Book Prize

The Readings Children’s Book Prize was established in 2014 and celebrates exciting new contributions to Australian children’s literature from early career authors and illustrators. The judges consider books written for children aged 5 to 12. The prize is awarded to the book which we believe children will love best.

Previous winners of the Readings Children’s Book Prize include Julie Hunt (2014), Trace Balla (2015), J.C. Jones (2016), Karen Foxlee (2017), Jo Sandhu (2018) and Carly Nugent (2019).

Eligibility Guidelines for 2020

• The Readings Children’s Book Prize is open to a work of published fiction, written for children aged 5–12 .
• The author must be an Australian citizen or hold permanent residency at the time of entry.
• To be eligible for the Prize, the author should have published no more than three children’s books in this category (Junior/Middle Fiction for ages 5-12). Picture books and YA novels are not eligible and will not be counted. A series published within a 12-month period is considered as one book.
• Second or subsequent books in a series will not be considered.
• Graphic novels, or illustrated narratives, are eligible for entry.
• Books of co-authorship, including books written by an author and illustrator, will be eligible.
• If the winning book has been written by an author and an illustrator it will be judged on a case by case basis as to whether they will jointly win the Prize and share the prize money.
• Books published only in e-book form are not eligible to be entered.
• Self-published works are not eligible to be entered.
• The work must be published or distributed in Australia through an Australian publisher or the Australian publishing wing of an international publisher as recognised by Readings. Please note that these categories of publisher do not include digital or print-on-demand printers or publishers based in Australia.
• Entries must be published in English.
• Authors must be living at the date of publication.
• Authors who win the Readings Children’s Book Prize will no longer be eligible for this Prize in future years.
• To be eligible for the 2020 Prize, books must have been first published between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019.
• Authors who are employed by Readings during the judging period for each year are not eligible for the Prize. For the 2020 Prize round, this period is from 1 January 2019, through to 30 April 2020.

Entry Guidelines for 2020

There is no process for entering the Prize. The judging panel will decide on eligible titles and invite respective publishers to submit no more than three reading copies of the nominated book for Prize consideration throughout the eligibility period. Further copies may be requested if the book is shortlisted.

Enquiries

Enquiries should be directed to the Prize Manager Bronte Coates at bronte.coates@readings.com.au.

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