2015 CHILDREN'S PEACE LITERATURE AWARD

The 2015 Children’s Peace Literature Award was announced this week, and the winner is One True Thing by Nicole Hayes.

The award is organised by the Psychologists for Peace Group, part of the Australian Psychological Society. It is a biennial award to Australian authors of books for children that encourage the peaceful resolution of conflict or promote peace at the global, local or interpersonal level.

Here’s what the judges had to say about One True Thing:

“The main character in the winning book is Frankie, the 16 year old daughter of a female politician who is running for Premier of Victoria and who becomes the target of a shock jock trying to dig up damaging information about her past. The mother is struggling to keep her secret and also address the strains it puts on her relationships as well as her political hopes. The family is almost split apart and there are many conflicts, not only between Frankie and her parents but also between Frankie and her various groups of friends including band members and new boyfriend. Several different methods of conflict resolution are demonstrated; all are handled constructively and with empathy. After trying some ineffective strategies, Frankie shows understanding, tolerance and persistence and her actions are critical in resolving the conflicts peacefully.”

“The characters are realistic; the story is engagingly written and makes compelling reading. The work is concurrently of high literary quality and an excellent model of nonviolent conflict resolution by the child concerned. The judges of the prize were unanimous in their choice of this book to win the 2015 Children’s Peace Literature Award.” 

MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR 2015

The Man Booker Prize for 2015 goes to................A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. 

 A Brief History of Seven Killings, tells the story of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, who is referred to throughout as “the singer”, and its aftermath. But perhaps more importantly, it tells the story of Jamaica in the 1970s and early 80s, when the guns flooded in, CIA agents took up residence, and the island went through one of its most violently defining moments. It is a story worth telling, and a story about Jamaica that doesn’t only take place in Jamaica.

James, aged 44, who lives in Minneapolis, is the first Jamaican author to win the prize in the Man Booker’s 47-year history.  His novel has a lot of fans: it was described by the New York Times as: “like a Tarantino remake of the The Harder They Come, but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner”.

 

THE GOLD INKY AWARDS

The Inky Awards recognise high-quality young adult literature, with the longlist and shortlist selected by young adults, and the winners voted for online by the teen readers of InsideaDog.com.au. There are two awards: the Gold Inky Award for an Australian book, and the Silver Inky Award for an international book.  Teenagers get to nominate to be judges through a very thorough process, see here.

This is the shortlist for the Gold Inky:

MICHAEL ROBOTHAM WINS THE 2015 CWA GOLDSBORO GOLD DAGGER AWARD

Michael Robotham has won the 2015 CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger Award for his bestselling 2014 standalone, Life or Death at a ceremony in London overnight. The Gold Dagger is awarded to the best crime novel of the year. It was originally created in 1955, under the name of the Crossed Red Herrings Award. It was renamed the Gold Dagger in 1960 and has been awarded ever since with variations in its name depending on sponsorship.

This is Michael’s first Gold Dagger win, though he was shortlisted in 2007 and 2008. Previous winners include James Lee Burke, Sara Paretsky, Ian Rankin and Minette Walters and Michael beat 2015 shortlisted authors including Stephen King and Robert Galbraith to the Gold. He is only the second Australian win, along with Peter Temple.

WINNERS OF THE VIVA LA NOVELLA AWARDS 2015

A novella generally features fewer conflicts than a novel, yet more complicated ones than a short story. The conflicts also have more time to develop than in short stories. Unlike novels, they are usually not divided into chapters, and are often intended to be read at a single sitting, as the short story, although white space is often used to divide the sections. They maintain, therefore, a single effect.

Examples of famous novellas are:

George Orwell, Animal Farm

John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey

These are the winners of Viva La Novella 2015

Welcome to Orphancorp 
by Marlee Jane Ward

Formaldehyde 
by Jane Rawson

The End of Seeing 
by Christy Collins

CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA AWARDS

The CBCA winners for 2015 have been announced, here's the link for you.  I doubt you'll be surprised to know that Alison Lester is again on the list.  Nonie the Pony Goes to the Beach has an Honour Award in the Early Childhood section.

 

DEATH AT THE BUE ELEPHANT BY JANEEN WEBB

We've just heard from Janeen that her book Death at the Blue Elephant is short listed for the 2015 World Fantasy Awards.  We hosted an event for Janeen when her book was released and during our conversation learned much about of speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy) and the world these authors inhabit.

The World Fantasy Awards, established in 1975, are presented annually at the World Fantasy Convention.  The World Fantasy Award has been described as one of the three most prestigious speculative fiction awards. Winners are chosen by a panel of judges, differing every year.

Winners are chosen from groups of nominees (generally five or six per category), also selected largely by the judges, with two picked by members of the annual World Fantasy Convention. The World Fantasy Awards differ significantly in administration from other notable genre awards, such as Hugos or Nebulas. For the Hugos, the nominees and winners are chosen solely by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, while the Nebulas are awards for authors chosen by authors, specifically members of the Science and Fantasy Writers of America.

Because of the small number of judges for the World Fantasy Awards, and because they usually try to read very comprehensively in the field, selections for the awards are often eclectic. For example, low-selling but high-quality works from small press publications, which may be overlooked by other awards, often receive a critical spotlight in the World Fantasy Awards.

(Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Fantasy_Award0

Our congratulations to Janeen and we look forward to hearing in November that she has won the award.

For more information on the Award click here. 

 

PETER USBORNE - LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Some years ago we began buying children's books by Usborne Publishing mainly because they were always well printed, covered interesting subjects and used great children's authors.  We learned today that Peter Usborne the founder of this publishing house has received the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015.  Attached is the story about Peter and the publishing house.

 

WINNER OF THE 2015 FINCH MEMOIR PRIZE

Schools of Fish by Alan Sampson has taken out the award for memoirs.  Alan is a Queensland Public School Executive Principal he is very much a man bent on success. As a very strict high school principal he was renowned for transforming weak schools into centres of academic and sporting excellence. But the long hours took their toll on his home life.

As his marriage ended and his family was torn apart, he was given charge of a troubled city high school on a downward spiral; to make matters worse, in this school was one of the most troublesome students he had ever come across … his own son, Greg. As Alan strives to find a way to tame his son’s behavioural problems at school and at home, he and Greg battle each other as well as the ingrained obstacles in the education system. Only when they both find the courage to step outside the rules do they find their way through to each other … and realise that the best education in life can often be found outside the school system.

This is worth a read whether or not you have children.

 

Alan Sampson, a Queensland Public School Executive Principal - See more at: http://finch.com.au/books/schools-of-fish-2#sthash.YUjsYd72.dpuf

Alan Sampson, a Queensland Public School Executive Principal - See more at: http://finch.com.au/books/schools-of-fish-2#sthash.YUjsYd72.dpuf

Alan Sampson, a Queensland Public School Executive Principal - See more at: http://finch.com.au/books/schools-of-fish-2#sthash.YUjsYd72.dpuf

AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS SHORTLIST

There are some great names and titles in this year's shortlist for the industry awards.  You can see the full list here. And here are a couple of my favourites.

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett, The Bush by Don Watson and Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi.



 

The winners will be announced on May 21.


I'd like to know what book you thought should be included in the list for 2015........

THOMAS KENEALLY - LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Australian Council has announced it will award the novelist Thomas Keneally for his lifetime achievement in literature. Keneally is one of ten Australians to be recognised by the council for outstanding contributions to the arts landscape in 2015.  The Australian author of The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, The Widow and her Hero and Schindler’s Ark for which he won the Man Booker prize in 1982, will be presented with the award at a ceremony in Sydney on March 19^th. (from The Guardian)

In an interview on Radio National the 79 year old described his craft as an ‘ageless activity’ and although he doesn’t know of anyone over 80 to have written a work of significance, he said…….:I’m going to do my best to be the first, I’ll at least shake the three”.

AWARDS - AUSTRALIAN ROMANCE READERS AWARDS 2014

Some of you may remember Helene Young an author who flew from Brisbane to Melbourne and took the long drive to Foster just to present at one of our final Twilight Talks series a couple of years ago.  Helene keeps wining awards for her books.  The most recent is The Favourite Romantic Suspense 2014 for Safe Harbour.  We say, well done and congratulations Helene.  And thank you again for taking the long trip to tell us what you do and how you do it.

WATERSONS CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARDS 2015

Waterstones is a British book retailer that operates 275 stores and employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe.  They’ve just announced their Children’s Book of the Year shortlist and it’s interesting to note that one third of the 18 titles are tales of young heroes solving a mystery or a murder echoing the world of authors such as Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton.  Waterstones believe there is evidence that young adult readers are moving away from the fantasy/dystopian/magic stories of recent years towards more contemporary books.  Take a look at the shortlist for 2015 here.

If you're looking for titles for children from babies to teenagers we have a Kid's Reading Guide in store to help.  Remember Easter isn't all that far away and a book is a wonderful gift.

AWARDS: Most Underrated Book Award 2014

There is a book award that doesn’t get a great deal of publicity, unlike the Man Booker Prize, the Miles Franklin Award and many other well known prizes.  It’s the Most Underrated Book Award and it is the brain child of The Small Press Network an umbrella organisation for Australian small and independent publishers.  The award aims to shine a light on some of the outstanding titles that, for whatever reason, did not receive their fair dues when first released.  The winner for 2014 is a debut novel by Jane Rawson A Wrong Turn at The Office of Unmade Lists. 

Set in 1997 San Francisco, Simon and Sarah have been sent on a quest to see America: they must stand at least once in every 25-foot square of the country. Decades later, in an Australian city that has fallen on hard times, Caddy is camped by the Maribyrnong River, living on small change from odd jobs, ersatz vodka and memories.

A review from the Goodreads website says:

“What a strange, great little book. If you like plot, you won't like this; plot is pretty much entirely absent. You join up with a troupe of acrobats at the start of a tour, shift from town to town across Europe working, drinking, dancing and having sex, and then you leave. But the voice of this book is utterly charming. There's no plot when you meet up with your risk-taking, charming, wilful, beautiful friend for a few too many drinks, is there? And yet, you still look forward to doing it again every time. Somewhere between three and four stars; let's call it four for just being so odd. “