With CBCA Book Week 2018 successfully concluded we now turn our attention to planning for next year. Award-winning author/illustrator Bob Graham is designing the art work for CBCA Book Week 2019 and the theme is Reading is my Secret Power!
 
The official Book of the Year announcement is made on the third Friday in August CBCA Book Week 2019 commences the following day running from 17-23 August
https://www.cbca.org.au/cbca-book-week
 
The WA Branch committee is considering the calendar for next year and preparations are well underway for ANWOS 2019. We are trialling a Friday night event this year as a pleasant, inspirational and rewarding way to end the working week. Make sure you check your inbox and renew your WA Branch membership early in the New Year so you can take advantage of the discounted member’s rate.
 
Do you love reading? Have you always wondered how those coveted gold, silver and bronze CBCA stickers are awarded? Would you like to be a CBCA Book of the Year judge? Here is your chance! Applications are now open for 2020/2021 however you need to be quick as the closing date is 30 November.
The 2018 Judges’ Report is now available on the CBCA website at this link:
https://cbca.org.au/winners-2018
It contains statistics and interesting insights into the judging process as well as providing a synopsis of all the shortlisted books. It is well worth reading and the judges are to be commended for their efforts.
 
We hope you have enjoyed our CBCA WA events this year and look forward to your continued support in 2019. Don’t forget that new committee members are always welcome so if you’d like to add a fresh face and some new ideas to our group you would be most welcome.
 
I hope you plan to give (and will hopefully also receive) lots of wonderful books this Christmas and urge you to support our local authors, illustrators and publishers by making your purchases at the very deserving WA Branch supporting book stores listed in this newsletter.
 
With very best wishes
Jan Nicholls
WA Branch President



   

2020-2021 JUDGES APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

The CBCA is now accepting applications for Judges for the 2020 & 2021 Book of the Year Awards.

Nominations close 30 November 2018 and judging panel appointments will be announced by 31 January 2019.

For the application form and further information on eligibility and selection criteria, judges' requirements and the application process please see our website.

There are a number of acknowledgements and updates I’d like to share with you.

CBCA Book of the Year Awards Judge Applications Open

Applications for Judges for the 2020 & 2021 CBCA Book of the Year Awards are now open. Information on the judging policy and eligibility criteria can be found on the National website. Applications close on 30 November 2018.

The 2018 CBCA Book of the Year Judges Report is available on the website at this link.

BOYA 2019 Entries

Boxes of books continue to arrive at the National Office for the 2019 CBCA Book of the Year Awards and the entry numbers are pleasingly strong. Publishers and creators are working well with the new online entry app. Entries close on 30 November 2018.

CBCA Book Week 2019 

We have received a very positive response to the CBCA Book Week 2019 theme Reading is My Secret Power. Design of the 2019 merchandise is well- advanced and the Merchandise Sub-Committee is currently on track for an earlier launch than in previous years. Branches will receive as much advance notice as possible of the launch schedule as we understand how important this is.

Branch Activities

The Board is very much enjoying reading in the branch newsletters about all the activities and events your branches are undertaking. The work you do within your states and local communities to connect members, schools and disadvantaged families with authors, illustrators and wonderful Australian children’s literature is incredibly important and I thank you for your ongoing efforts and dedication.

2019 National Conference

The planning committee has been working hard to finalise the conference program which features a fantastic line-up and will explore and highlight the contribution made by authors of humour to Australian children’s literature. The conference will be held in Canberra from 31^st May to 2^nd June. If you know of anyone interested in supporting the CBCA 13^th National Conference, a trade and sponsorship prospectus can be found on the National website.

2019 Short List and Book of the Year Awards

Thank you for your expressions of interest to host the 2019 Short List and Book of the Year events. We are pleased to announce that the CBCA Victorian Branch will be responsible for staging these two high-profile and prestigious events. The Board is very grateful to the branch for the generosity of its proposal to host these events.

National Board Changes

Tina Cavanough, who served on the National Board as Queensland Branch Director for the past six years, has moved to Melbourne for a new work role. During her time as Director she also spent countless hours editing the very successful Reading Time website. We would like to thank Tina for her time, dedication and contribution to the CBCA and wish her all the very best with her new role and life in Melbourne.

We welcome the Queensland Branch's new Director nominee, Robyn Emerson, who will join the Board in Brisbane on November 10 for our second face-to-face meeting of the year.

Donation

We would like to acknowledge a $1000 donation from Sydney Grammar Preparatory School Parents’ Association. Their generosity and gesture of support for the CBCA is greatly appreciated and the funds will help us to continue our work of promoting literacy and Australian children’s literature.

2018 CBCA Book of the Year Feedback 

While the 2018 Awards are well and truly behind us, I’d like to share an excerpt from an email sent to Jenny Stubbs of CBCA Queensland from Affirm Press regarding the CBCA Book of the Year Awards event in Brisbane:

It was such a lovely day on Friday and a wonderful event. Seeing Gwyn beaming with happiness was such a treat. I just wish I’d been able to stay for the evening – Gwyn had a fabulous time with everyone. It means so much to any creator and publisher to be shortlisted, but for a small publisher that has just begun their children’s list it means the world. My sincerest thanks. Claire Hume.

2018 CBCA Book Week Feedback

It’s never too late to share a good news story about CBCA Book Week. Albany Public Library sent us a copy of their newsletter in late September. Following is an excerpt:

Book Week is one of the libraries biggest literacy promotion programs delivered to schools in Albany and the Region. We would like to thank the Children’s Book Council of Australia WA Branch for their ongoing support of the library [which, along with our other sponsors] make it possible for us to deliver such a vibrant program.

With best wishes to you all,
Margot
Chair, National Board 

An afternoon tea was organised recently to honour the recipients of the Muriel Barwell Award and to pay tribute to the wonderful model Muriel provided in her many years of voluntary work with the CBCA, WA Branch. The occasion provided an opportunity for previous winners, the 2018 judges and the current and past Convenors of the Award to meet with Muriel.

It was especially memorable to be able to welcome Peter Williams, the inaugural winner of the Award, who travelled from his home on the NSW coast to join the group. Elaine Forrestal could not attend but sent an email which echoed the thoughts of all present, "I am very proud of my membership of such an elite gathering."

It was a special occasion for all present and in the words of Muriel, "We’ll do it all again in 2 years time."
Sue Wyche

Award Recipients:
Peter Williams - 2006, Mary Gimondo - 2008, Frané Lessac - 2010, 
Elaine Forrestal - 2012,  Jenni Woodroffe - 2014, Celia Cole - 2016,
Jan Nicholls - 2018. 

At the ACEL Conference, held in Melbourne during October, Jackie French AM, was the inaugural ‘Storyteller in the Spotlight’. Other storytellers included Katrina Naanstead, Yvonne Goolagong Cawley and Alex Rance. Jackie writes about true events, change and adding to build a story that will enable her readers to live experiences in safety. 

She opened her talk with a reading from Diary of a Wombat and continued by sharing many messages including that through books; we can all fight our ogres from a safe place and, when we give children the power of words we are giving them the tools to communicate.

In affluent Australia, what would happen if we spent as much on libraries and literacy in a school as we spent on sport? She chatted about Georg seeing the parachute and his understanding that hatred is contagious. Beware of anyone who tries to make you angry like Hitler but kindness is more contagious than hate. The book was based on her friend Peter and his experiences. It only took one experience of kindness to wipe out three years of horror with an offer of warmth and food when he arrived in Australia.

Jackie feels a book is the most powerful educational tool that you can give and as parents, teachers and librarians we should fight for children to have the right resources so they can learn, as through them we are creating the future of the planet.

Jackie was a fabulous and inspiring speaker who echoed the thoughts of all the book lovers and readers in the audience. 
Sue Stopher

Feliz Carnaval! 
State Library of Western Australia, Ground Floor
Saturday 29 September 2018 to Sunday 20 January 2019

Broome-based picture book creators Joshua Button and Robyn Wells were in Perth recently to talk about their collaboration, Steve Goes to Carnival (Magabala Books, 2016), and attend the opening of a stunning exhibition at the State Library of Western Australia featuring original artwork, working drawings, notes and sketchbooks that chart the book’s ten-year journey from inception to publication. 

This vibrantly illustrated story follows the escapades of Steve, the jazz-loving gorilla who slips out of the zoo one night into the streets of Rio during carnival, in search of his friend Antonio a zookeeper by day and jazz club saxophonist by night.

In a relaxed and fascinating Q&A session, Joshua and Robyn described how their working relationship had evolved from student and teacher to co-artists and collaborators. Joshua, a descendant of the Walmajarri people of the Kimberley, was a Year 5 student struggling with his studies when he met Robyn who was teaching a primary school literacy program. A weekend crabbing expedition became the focus for which a book Robyn saw as a way of supporting Joshua’s language and fine motor skills that were affected by a learning disability. In 2005, Magabala Books published Joshua’s first picture book, Joshua and the Two Crabs. 

3 Writers in a Room – Ricky Gibson, Kitty Black & Lizz Clarke

On 13^th September at Paper Bird Children’s Books & Art, I attended an enriching evening with the Paper Bird Fellowship writers and illustrators Ricky Gibson, Kitty Black and Lizz Clarke. During the 3 months they worked on their respective projects these fellowship recipients never met in the studio. 

Ricky Gibson is a multi-disciplinary artist. His works vary from illustration to animation. A tattoo artist, furniture designer, photographer and Graphic Designer, his passion is large-scale mural projects. He stated that writing a book is one of the things on his bucket list and his work is inspired by Tim Burton and the Adam’s Family. Ricky talked about his book Crowboy, published by Serenity Press. A quirky, picture book for ages 5+ about a kid who doesn’t fit but finds a place.

Kitty Black is a freelance writer with a background in psychology and words have always been part of her world. She hopes her stories are quirky and tug on heartstrings, and that they will find their way into becoming a part of someone else’s world.  Kitty read a chapter from her manuscript, The Three Dragons and is expecting two new books to be launched next year.

Lizz Clarke is an emerging writer. Her writing inspires from Nan's storytelling during the 1970’s in England. She has always loved stories and understands the power stories have to change people's ideas and behaviour.

Cate Sutherland from Fremantle Press and award-winning writer/illustrator Wendy Binks explored some challenges in children’s book publishing. Wendy shared her self-publishing, solitary work which required her to work 10 hours each day to finish her project. Cate suggested tips for aspiring writers and illustrators to give their sample chapters their best shot at acceptance including checking submission guidelines, seeking feedback and reaching out to intended audiences for their reaction. 

The evening included audience questions and discussion, lots of anecdotes and humour from the panels. Paper Bird has offered eight Fellowships to children’s writers and illustrators since 2017 in partnership with the Australian West Branch of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) WA Branch, and City of Fremantle.   
Aniek Ragan

Our Book Discussion Group has read books by six of the nine writers presenting at the conference. The presenting authors were incredibly generous in sharing deeply personal aspects of their lives and after two days I felt I knew them pretty well. WA author Brendan Ritchie talked about the impact of fatherhood and how his outlook on life and writing has changed.

James Roy and Jay Kristoff are pantsers or gardeners while Fiona Wood and Jaclyn Moriarty are planners or architects. Jaclyn tried writing by the seat of her pants with The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone but has since gone back to being a planner.

James Roy is passionate about inspiring children to write through exposing them to quality literature and giving practical writing workshops. He makes good use of ‘thought experiments’ designed to make children consider what they would do in situations without having any skin in the game. 

Fiona Wood goes to great lengths to ensure characters in her stories represent people from diverse backgrounds, for example, a Vietnamese minor character in Wildlife became the main protagonist in Cloudwish. This is possibly the only Australian YA book with a Vietnamese main character.

Claire Zorn, author of three YA titles, visualizes and selects songs for each scene before writing and her novels include a soundtrack. 

Thank you to The Literature Centre staff and volunteers for a memorable experience. Special thanks to Jan Nichols, our President and recipient of the 2018 Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Services to Children’s Literature for working so hard as a volunteer to ensure the attendees thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Gail Spiers

The Centre For Stories
Lit Live, A Child's Mind
100 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge
Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 19:00  20:30
Come and listen to stories about children, about childhood memories, the difficulties of being a teen and the even greater difficulties of being a parent!

Writers include Ian McEwan, Goldie Goldbloom, Tim Winton and local writer Hellie Turner. $10 ticket, 
event details here. 

This year we are going to make a book!

Be inspired by your favourite illustrators and comic book artists.

Get tips on how to design characters, draw animals and more.

Build your skills in drawing, painting and illustrating.
More info here