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Award for Children's Literature
Subcategory of Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Festival Awards for Literature (SA)
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Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon Nevermoor : The Trials of Morrigan Crow Jessica Townsend , Sydney : Lothian , 2017 11160400 2017 single work children's fiction children's fantasy

'Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2018

winner y separately published work icon Dragonfly Song Wendy Orr , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2016 9510660 2016 single work children's fiction children's

'Abandoned by the priestess of the island at birth, Aissa is an outcast, surviving by her wits - until she joins the acrobatic bull dancers who are sent away to compete on the island of the Bull King. A gripping and powerful adventure by acclaimed author Wendy Orr.

'There are two ways of looking at Aissa's story. She's the miracle girl who escaped the raiders. Or she's the cursed child who called the Bull King's ship to the island.

'The firstborn daughter of a priestess is cast out as a baby, and after raiders kill her adopted family, she is abandoned at the gates of the Great Hall, anonymous and mute. Called No-Name, the cursed child, she is raised a slave, and not until she is twelve does she learn her name is Aissa: the dragonfly.

'Now every year the Bull King takes a tribute from the island: two thirteen-year-old children to brave the bloody bull dances in his royal court. None have ever returned - but for Aissa it is the only escape.

'Aissa is resilient, resourceful, and fast - but to survive the bull ring, she will have to learn the mystery of her true nature.

'A riveting, mythic Bronze Age adventure from award-winning author Wendy Orr.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2014

winner y separately published work icon A Very Unusual Pursuit Catherine Jinks , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2013 Z1905113 2013 single work children's fiction children's fantasy historical fiction 'Monsters have been infesting London's dark places for centuries, eating every child who gets too close. That's why ten-year-old Birdie McAdam works for Alfred Bunce, the bogler. With her beautiful voice and dainty looks, Birdie is the bait that draws bogles from their lairs so that Alfred can kill them.

'One life-changing day, Alfred and Birdie are approached by two very different women. Sarah Pickles runs a local gang of pickpockets, three of whom have disappeared. Edith Eames is an educated lady who's studying the mythical beasts of English folklore. Both of them threaten the only life Birdie's ever known.

'But Birdie soon realises she needs Miss Eames's help to save her master, defeat Sarah Pickles, and vanquish an altogether nastier villain.' (From the publisher's website.)

Works About this Award

Winner Tamsin On Top of the World Deborah Bogle , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Mail , 28 February 2016; (p. 28)
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