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Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2023

winner y separately published work icon Berani Michelle Kadarusman , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2022 25092642 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'Malia, Ari and Ginger's three distinct voices are interwoven to tell the story of Ginger Juice, an orangutan kept captive in a cage, in this powerful and uplifting novel

'Malia has had a privileged upbringing in Indonesia, but since her Indonesian father died, her Canadian mother wants to return to her own family. Malia is determined to stay. Indonesia is her home, and she loves it. Besides, if she leaves, how can she continue to fight for her country's precious rainforests?

'Ari knows he is lucky to be going to school, even if it means an endless round of chores at his uncle's restaurant. Back in his home village, he dreamed about getting a chance like this. But he's horribly worried about Ginger Juice, his uncle's orangutan. The too-small cage where she lives is clearly hurting her body and her mind, but where else can she go? The rainforest where she was born is a palm oil plantation now.

'Berani spins together three perspectives: Malia, who is prepared to risk anything for her activism, Ari, who knows the right path but fears what it will cost, and Ginger Juice, the caged orangutan who still remembers the forest and her mother. The choices the young people make will have consequences for themselves, for Ginger Juice, and for others, if they are brave enough—or reckless enough—to choose. For ages 8-12.'  (Publication summary)

Year: 2022

winner y separately published work icon Bailey Finch Takes a Stand Ingrid Laguna , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2021 21556493 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'Bailey’s mum had always said that being by the creek with Bailey and her dad was as good as it gets. She had shown Bailey sap glistening on tree trunks. They had crouched together to nudge a beetle onto a leaf. They had sat on the creek’s edge with their bare feet in the water.

'It’s one year since Bailey’s mum died. And her dad doesn’t seem to care much about anything. But Bailey still spends afternoons by the creek with her dog, Sheba.

'Until Sheba gets sick—very sick—from something she must have swallowed while swimming in the creek. And Bailey notices all the rubbish polluting the waterway.

'Between visits to Sheba in the vet hospital, Bailey tries to find a way to make the creek safe for Sheba and other animals. And through her unexpected friendship with Israel, a quiet boy who knows about endangered species, Bailey Finch finds the courage to take a stand.

'Bailey Finch Takes a Stand is a moving story about love and loss, about caring for the environment and standing up to make change happen.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2021

winner y separately published work icon The Power of Positive Pranking Nat Amoore , Melbourne : Puffin , 2020 19544652 2020 single work children's fiction children's

'Green Peas is our name and pranking's our game!

'A symphony of alarm clocks at assembly? Yep, that was us. A plague of fluffy guinea pigs? It's next on our agenda.

'But for me, Cookie and Zeke, it's about more than just fun. We're determined to make a difference. And when the adults won't listen, us kids will find a way to be heard - as long as we can stay out of detention!

'No activist is too small, no prank too big... and things are about to get personal.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon Ocean's Revenge Gavin Aung Than , Melbourne : Puffin , 2019 15918877 2019 single work children's fiction children's fantasy

'The Mother of the Seas is sick of humans using the oceans as a junkyard, so she decides to give the land dwellers a taste of their own medicine. Prepare for an unbelievable underwater menace that threatens to destroy the entire world!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2019

winner y separately published work icon The Stormy Protest Maxi the Lifeguard : The Stormy Protest Trent Maxwell , David Lawrence , South Melbourne : Affirm Press , 2018 14733889 2018 single work children's fiction children's

'When Maxi and his friends discover that someone has been dumping rubbish into the ocean near Bondi, they are furious. Who would do such a thing, and why won’t anyone take them seriously when they report it? Luckily, Maxi has a plan – but exposing the polluter will hurt someone he cares about. Can Maxi find a way out of this messy situation?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Works About this Award

Guided Tour i "Here is the burrow where truth", Andrew Taylor , 2004 single work poetry
— Appears in: Collected Poems 2004; (p. 659)
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