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Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books
Subcategory of New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
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Notes

  • Awarded to a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry written for children.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2021

winner y separately published work icon The Grandest Bookshop in the World Amelia Mellor , Mulgrave : Affirm Press , 2020 19678977 2020 single work children's fiction children's

'Pearl and Vally Cole live in a bookshop. And not just any bookshop. In 1893, Cole's Book Arcade in Melbourne is the grandest bookshop in the world, brimming with every curiosity imaginable. Each day brings fresh delights for the siblings: voice-changing sweets, talking parrots, a new story written just for them by their eccentric father.

'When Pearl and Vally learn that Pa has risked the Arcade - and himself - in a shocking deal with the mysterious Obscurosmith, the siblings hatch a plan. Soon they are swept into a dangerous game with impossibly high stakes: defeat seven challenges by the stroke of midnight and both the Arcade and their father will be restored. But if they fail Pearl and Vally won't just lose Pa - they'll forget that he and the Arcade ever existed.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2020

winner y separately published work icon Ella and the Ocean Lian Tanner , Jonathan Bentley (illustrator), Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2019 16562714 2019 single work picture book children's

'A very Australian story of drought and renewal, of family, of imagination and of the power of hope.

Ella lived in the red-dirt country
where the earth was as dry as old bones
and it hadn't rained 
for years
and years
and years.

One night, Ella dreamt of the ocean…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2019

joint winner y separately published work icon Leave Taking Lorraine Marwood , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2018 14136050 2018 single work children's fiction children's

'Leave taking noun the act of saying goodbye

'What if you had just one week left to say goodbye to everything you’ve ever known?

'Toby and his mum and dad are leaving their family farm after the death of Toby’s younger sister, Leah. Together, they sort through all their belongings and put things aside to sell or throw out. It’s a big task, and Toby doesn’t want to leave the only place he’s called home. 

'As his last day on the farm approaches, Toby has a plan – a plan to say goodbye to all the things and places that mean something special to him and Leah, from the machinery shed to Pa’s old truck to the chook house. With the help of his best friend, Trigger the dog, he learns what it means to take your leave.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

With Dingo.

joint winner y separately published work icon Dingo Claire Saxby , Tannya Harricks (illustrator), Glebe : Walker Books Australia , 2018 13753131 2018 single work picture book children's

'The night is young and there is hunting to be done. An exciting new addition to the narrative non-fiction series Nature Storybooks, about dingoes.

'Can you see her? There – deep in the stretching shadows – a dingo. Her pointed ears twitch. Her tawny eyes flash in the low-slung sun. Dingo listens. Dusk is a busy time. Dusk is the time for hunting. This lyrical non-fiction picture book is written by award-winning author Claire Saxby and stunningly illustrated by fine artist Tannya Harricks.'  (Publication summary)

 

With Leave Taking.

Year: 2018

winner y separately published work icon How to Bee Bren MacDibble , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2017 10212727 2017 single work children's fiction children's

'Sometimes bees get too big to be up in the branches, sometimes they fall and break their bones. This week both happened and Foreman said, 'Tomorrow we'll find two new bees.'

'Peony lives with her sister and grandfather on a fruit farm outside the city. In a world where real bees are extinct, the quickest, bravest kids climb the fruit trees and pollinate the flowers by hand. All Peony really wants is to be a bee. Life on the farm is a scrabble, but there is enough to eat and a place to sleep, and there is love. Then Peony's mother arrives to take her away from everything she has ever known, and all Peony's grit and quick thinking might not be enough to keep her safe.

'How To Bee is a beautiful and fierce novel for younger readers, and the voice of Peony will stay with you long after you read the last page.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Year: 2017

winner y separately published work icon Iris and the Tiger Leanne Hall , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2016 8942972 2016 single work children's fiction children's

'Twelve-year-old Iris has been sent to Spain on a mission: to make sure her elderly and unusual aunt, Ursula, leaves her fortune – and her sprawling estate – to Iris's scheming parents.

'But from the moment Iris arrives at Bosque de Nubes, she realises something isn't quite right. There is an odd feeling around the house, where time moves slowly and Iris's eyes play tricks on her. While outside, in the wild and untamed forest, a mysterious animal moves through the shadows.

'Just what is Aunt Ursula hiding?

'But when Iris discovers a painting named Iris and the Tiger, she sets out to uncover the animal's real identity – putting her life in terrible danger.' (Publication summary)

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