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CBCA Book of the Year Awards (1946-)
or Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards
Subcategory of Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
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History

The first Australian Children's Book of the Year Award was made in 1946. The awards were established by the Children's Book Council of Australia.

There was no competition in 1949.

From 1946 until 1952, there was only a single award. The Picture Book of the Year Award was established as a separate award in 1956. Until 1982, there was no division between Older and Younger Readers. The Eve Pownall Award for information books was presented by Eve Pownall's family in 1988, then by the Children's Book Council from 1993. The Early Childhood Award was introduced in 2001.

In 2022, the CBCA introduced a Shadowers' Choice Award: initially funded by the federal government's Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) fund, the inaugural awards involved 155 groups of children 'shadowing' one of the prize categories and selecting their own winner.

Sources: http://cbca.org.au/awardshistory.htm (Sighted: 3/12/2013); https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2022/08/29/219669/cbca-shadowers-choice-awards-2022-winners/ (Sighted: 01/09/2022)

Notes

  • The first Australian Children's Book of the Year Award was made in 1946. At that time and until 1952, there was a single category of award. In 1955 a category for Picture Book of the Year was created and a Younger Readers category in 1982. In 1987 the Book of the Year Award was subsumed into the Older Readers category. The Eve Pownall Award was created in 1993, and the Early Childhood in 2001.

Latest Winners / Recipients (also see subcategories)v872

Works About this Award

Author's Baby Steps Became Giant Strides Deborah Bogle , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 20 August 2016; (p. 37)
Visions and Values : The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Prizing of Picture Books in the Twenty-First Century Erica Hateley , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: Canon Constitution and Canon Change in Children's Literature 2016; (p. 205-221)

'The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) administers the oldest national prize for children’s literature in Australia. Each year, the CBCA confers “Book of the Year” awards to literature for young people in five categories: Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood, Picture Books and Information Books. In recent years the Picture Book category has emerged as a highly visible space within which the CBCA can contest discourses of cultural marginalization which construct Australian (‘colonial’) literature as inferior or adjunct to the major Anglophone literary traditions, and children’s literature as lesser than its adult counterpart. The CBCA has moved from asserting its authority by withholding judgment in the award’s early years towards asserting expertise via overtly politicized selections in the twenty-first century. Reading across the CBCA’s selections of picture books allows for insights into wider trends in Australian children’s literature and culture, and suggests a conscious engagement with social as well as literary values on the part of the CBCA in the twenty-first century.'

Judges Report – CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2016 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Reading Time , August 2016;
'The total number of entries for the 2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year was 402. This includes 360 fiction entries and 42 non-fiction. There were many ‘jewel entries’ in the CBCA 70th birthday crown. The judges noted that it was refreshing to see the breadth of entries from poetry, verse novels, fiction and non-fiction, with outstanding writers and illustrators opting to use new voices and explore the boundaries with new stories and mediums. First time authors and illustrators combined to produce Notables and Shortlisted books in all categories. It was also noted that short story collections were abundant with endearing and intriguing characters and exquisite writing. While there were debut novels and titles, many fiction series continued in all categories where writing, plot, setting and characters combined to tell an individual narrative. Graphic novels featured in the Younger Readers section with supernatural threads in others genres along with romance and adventure. War as a theme still appeared in every category, however it was refreshing to see differing perspectives and narratives being told with writers and illustrators opting to use new voices and explore other stories. Refugees, fantasy, humour, animals, bullying, family and relationships all featured prominently.' (Introduction)
Seventy Years : A Cause for Celebration Margaret Hamilton , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 30 no. 5 2015; (p. 20-21)
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