AustLit
History
Latest Winners / Recipients
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Year: 2023
winner y Cop and Robber Melbourne : Puffin , 2022 24424825 2022 single work children's fiction children's'A new nailbiter from the bestselling author of Two Wolves.
'If your mum was a cop and your dad was a crim who needed your help to commit a crime, would you do it to save him? At what cost?
'Nash Hall's dad is a criminal who just can't seem to go straight. He wants Nash to help him commit a robbery. A big one. The trouble is, Nash's mum is a cop. And the robbery is at Nash's school. But Dad owes a lot of money to some very dangerous people and if Nash doesn't help him do the job, it could cost both their lives.' (Publication summary)
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Year: 2022
winner y We Are Wolves Sydney : ABC Books , 2020 19829486 2020 single work children's fiction children's historical fiction'Sometimes it's good to be wild.
'Sometimes you have to be wild.
'When the Russian Army marches into East Prussia at the end of the war, the Wolf family must flee. Liesl, Otto and their baby sister Mia find themselves lost and alone, in a blizzard, in the middle of a war zone. Liesl has promised Mama that she will keep her brother and sister safe.
'But sometimes, to survive, you have to do bad things. Dangerous things. Wild things.
'Sometimes to survive, you must become a wolf.' (Publication summary)
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Year: 2021
winner y Sick Bay St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2019 15643916 2019 single work children's fiction children's'Two very different Grade 6 girls meet in their school sick bay. Meg is a loner. Grieving over the death of her father, and struggling with changes at home, she wears slippers to school and hides out in sick bay to avoid other kids. New girl Riley, is a Type 1 diabetic and already popular. She doesn't want to go to sick bay, but sometimes she has to if she's having a high or a low. As Meg and Riley are forced to spend more and more time together in the cramped sick bay room, they start to uncover each other's secrets and find the courage to be who they really are.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
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Year: 2020
winner y Detention Sydney : Penguin Random House Australia , 2019 16885223 2019 single work novel young adult'Sima and her family are pressed to the rough, cold ground among fifty others. They lie next to the tall fence designed to keep them in. The wires are cut one by one.
'When they make their escape, a guard raises the alarm. Shouting, smoke bombs, people tackled to the ground. In the chaos Sima loses her parents.
'Dad told her to run, so she does, hiding in a school and triggering a lockdown. A boy, Dan, finds her hiding in the toilet block.
'What should he do? Help her? Dob her in? She's breaking the law, but is it right to lock kids up? And if he helps, should Sima trust him? Or run?
'THIS MOMENT, THESE DECISIONS, WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF THEIR LIVES. ' (Publication summary)
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Year: 2019
winner y Maybe Melbourne : Viking , 2017 11572547 2017 single work children's fiction historical fiction'1946. Europe is in ruins. Millions of people dream of finding happiness somewhere else.
'Fourteen year old Felix is one of them. When he’s offered a journey to Australia, he seizes the opportunity. So does someone very dear to him, even though she wasn’t actually invited.
'They have high hopes for Australia, and their dramatic arrival there makes them want to stay. But before Felix and Anya can embrace the love and friendship of their new land, they must confront the murderous urge for revenge still alive in the old.
'Felix knows he hasn’t faced anything like this before.
'He may not survive, but he’s hoping he will. Maybe.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.