Event: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

The National Library of Australia is hosting an event for members of the public to meet the authors, poets and filmmakers shortlisted for the 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. You’re invited to a celebration of great Australian writing and a conversation about the writing life where you will be among the first to find out who’s won the Awards. Shortlisted authors will be available to sign copies of their books.

Young adult fiction shortlist:

·                                 A Straight Line to My Heart, Bill Condon

·                                 Being Here, Barry Jonsberg

·                                 Pan’s Whisper, Sue Lawson

·                                 When We Were Two, Robert Newton

·                                 Alaska, Sue Saliba

      Children's shortlist:

·                                 Evangeline, The Wish Keeper's Helper, Maggie Alderson

·                                 The Jewel Fish of Karnak, Graeme Base

·                                 Father's Day, Anne Brooksbank

·                                 Come Down, Cat!, written by Sonya Hartnett and illustrated by Lucia Masciullo

·                                 Goodnight, Mice!, written by Frances Watts and illustrated by Judy Watson

Where: National Library of Australia Theatre

When: 12 noon, Monday 23 July

Cost: Free

Bookings: 02 6262 1271 or http://events.nla.gov.au

Children's Book Council of Australia Awards 2012

The 2012 Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Notables and Shortlist have just been announced. The lists include some new faces and some old favourites and congratulations to all nominees who have produced world class literature for our children.

I'll stick out my neck and have a go at predicting who will win in each category come August.

Older Readers:
A Straight Line to My Heart by Bill Condon (Allen & Unwin)
Brilliant characters, witty dialogue and perceptions about life, death, friendship and family. Bill Condon gets better and better and this absolute gem of a story proves it.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.



Younger Readers:
Crow Country by Kate Constable (Allen and Unwin)

A compelling time slip novel set in the town of Boort, Victoria combining history, Indigenous lore and tackling bigger issues of power and racism. Unique and very Australian. Loved it and have already bought it for half my family.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.


Early Childhood:
My pick is The Last Viking by Norman Jorgensen, illustrated by James Foley (Fremantle Press)
Bravery and imagination, the perfect combination for any child or for any one of us. Beautifully detailed and colourful illustrations delight.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.

Picture Book:
This one was tricky, a close call between For All Creatures by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Rebecca Cool (Walker Books Australia) and A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham (Walker Books).

I have to give the nod to For All Creatures with its message of gratitude for the gifts of nature. In my review at the time, I said that this beautifully lyrical text accompanied by the visual treat of the bold, naive-like illustrations would win a swag of awards.


Eve Pownall Award for Information Books:
Carole Wilkinson's Fromelles: Australia's Bloodiest Day at War (black dog books) is one that all Australians should read. It is heart-breaking and inspirational at the same time and a reminder of the sacrifice war demands from not only 'our side' and 'our troops' but from all.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.

Chrichton Award:
Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby (University of Queensland Press)
Exquisitely simple and effective illustrations tell this story about friendship for young children.


Read the Buzz Words Books review here.


You can read the full lists here: Notables, Shortlist , Chrichton Shortlist

My predictions are, of course, my personal choice for the best books for children in Australia over the past year. I know I lean towards historical books.

I'd love to hear your predictions.

A Straight Line to My Heart

 A Straight Line to My Heart by Bill Condon (Allen & Unwin)

PB RRP $17.99

ISBN 9781742377308

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Bill Condon was the winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award in 2010. In this outstanding, perfectly crafted novel, he showcases simple, everyday bits and pieces of life. His unique characters are engaging and lovable. The one-scene appearances of minor characters are perfect gems. But it’s Reggie, a priceless, dinky-di Aussie that leaves the reader in stitches with his clever one-liners.

Tiffany is ordinary in appearance and bookish. Her family came to her indirectly after her mother’s death. Reggie, the oldest member is like a grandfather; Bull, is her father figure. When Nell, Reggie’s wife died, the two men coped very well raising a child they adored.

Kayla, Tiffany’s best and only friend, is willowy and stunning. Her home life is also unconventional. Her pregnant, pokie-loving mother lives with a younger man who adores her and her brood. Kayla has to fight the boys off while Tiffany dreams of love that seems never to reach her.

High School is over. With the summer stretched out before them the girls have lots of time to consider their future. Great changes are in store for both of them; all life-changing, some heartbreaking.

Tiffany gets work experience at the local newspaper hoping that this will open doors to a future in journalism. But Gungee Creek doesn’t offer many options, for there is ‘nothing much in Gungee Creek, not even a creek’.

Tiffany’s time at the newspaper is anything but fun. She is plagued with insecurities and nothing and no one is as she had expected. But she is forced through circumstance to see things from a different perspective. She experiences loss once again, but love comes softly when she meets someone as ordinary as herself who sees how extraordinary she really is.

Condon’s characters could be any person with their own life story. This life is often measured by others based on a thin slice of knowledge, when so much more makes up the whole than that slice, for lives are built from stories upon stories upon stories. This is a book about those stories; about humanity, love, loss, grief and growing up. It comes highly recommended.