Resources

These annual awards are for books with an implied readership under the age of eighteen, and are presented in five categories.

The Judges assess entries for the Children's Book of the Year Award primarily for literary merit, including cohesiveness in significant literary elements; language chosen carefully for its appropriateness to the theme and style of the work with proper regard to the aesthetic qualities of language; and originality in the treatment of literary elements as they apply to the form of the work. Judges also consider quality of illustrations, book design, production, printing and binding.

Established in 1946. Sponsored by the Children's Book Council of Australia.

The YABBA awards are a children's choice book award in 3 sections, presented annually.

The sections are:
Picture Story Books
Fiction for Younger Readers
Fiction for Older Readers

Each year:
Children nominate Australian children's fiction books that have been published in the last ten years to create a short list.
Children vote for their favourite books by a specified date in October, (usually International Children's Day).
The winners are announced at the award ceremony where authors and illustrators receive YABBA citations presented by children.

Established in 1986. Sponsored by YABBA, Victoria, Australia

The Bilby Awards are Queensland's children's choice awards. They are run by the Children's Book Council of Australia (Queensland Branch).

Bilby stands for Books I Love Best Yearly.

Established in 1990. Sponsored by Children's Book Council of Australia (Queensland Branch).

Cool Awards - Children's Choice Book Awards in Canberra are compiled as a result of the suggestions sent in by students from across Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT.

The COOL Awards are the children's choice book awards voted for by the younger people of the Canberra Region. The COOL Awards stands for Canberra's Own Outstanding List. It is a programs run for children, allowing them to vote for their favourtie book in the sections of Picture Story Book, Fiction for Younger Readers, and Fiction for Older Readers.

Established in 1991. Sponsored by Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Public Library.

The CROW Awards were successful throughout their short history, with the last being presented in 1998. However, by that time, the CROW Committee consisted of one person, who was helped by a succession of temporary assistants, all senior university students who lasted one year before getting a job and handing the CROW position on to a friend. Then, when the solitary Crow was to go overseas in January, 1999, there was nobody willing to take over, and the Award folded. Now, of course, the CROW is dead, but has been resurrected as a KANGA. (And, at the same time, the captain of the football Kangas has become - a Crow. Ah, the mysteries of life!)

Established in 191. Sponsored by multiple South Australia Institutions.

Kids Own Australian Literature Awards are annual awards made by young readers in NSW to the Australian books they have most enjoyed reading during that year. KOALA is the NSW children's choice reading award.

Established in 1987. Sponsored by the Children's Book Council of Australia, (NSW Branch).

The West Australian Young Readers Book Award, (WAYRBA) is a readers' choice award, organised on a statewide basis for young readers.

As such, it pioneered a new concept in Australia, allowing children the major say in their prize winning literature.

The scheme represents a positive attempt to generate enthusiasm for pleasure reading, to enrich children's reading experiences and to develop their powers of discrimination in comparing quality literature.

Established in 1980. Sponsored by various West Australia institutions.

The Children's Peace Litereary Award is a biennial award to one or more Australian authors of books for children that encourage the peaceful resolution of conflict or promote peace at the global, local or interpersonal level.

Established in 1987. Sponsored by The Australian Psychological Society.

The Crichton Award aims to recognise and encourage new talent in the field of Australian children's book illustration.

To be eligible, books are required to be the first book published by the illustrator in trade book format, with the illustrations forming a significant part of its narrative or informational content.

The Crichton Award was created by the CBCA Victorian Branch in 1988 to recognise and encourage new talent in the field of Australian children's book illustration. It commemorates Raymond Wallace Crichton, a long-time supporter of the branch and its efforts.

The winner is announced during a Victorian Branch function for Children's Book Week.

Established in 2001. Sponsored by the Children's Book Council of Australia Victorian Branch.

The Dromkeen Medal is an annual award, initiated in 1982 and presented by the Governors of the Courtney Oldmeadow Children�s Literature Foundation, based at the historic Dromkeen homestead. The award is made to an Australian citizen for recent work that makes a significant contribution to the appreciation and development of children�s literature. The Medal was designed by Robert Ingpen, a former Hans Christian Andersen medallist for illustration (and Dromkeen winner in 1989), and depicts the Dromkeen homestead, a sickle moon and boughs of wattle.

Established in 1982. Sponsored by the Governors of the Courtney Oldmeadow Childrens Literature Foundation.

The Environment Award for Children's Literature is intended to promote books which inspire a sense of wonder and a sense of caring for the natural world.

The annual Environment Award, inaugurated in 1994, is open to fiction and non-fiction children's books published in Australia. Award trophies and certificates are presented to authors and illustrators who best encourage an attitude of caring, wonder and understanding of the natural environment, or those that promote an awareness of environmental issues.

Established in 1984. Sponsored by The Wilderness Society.

The NSW Premier's Literary Awards were established by Premier Neville Wran in 1979. They were the first comprehensive awards of their kind in Australia and remain the most comprehensive and best remunerated in the country.

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature is one the of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards awarded annually.

Established in 1979. Sponsored by the NSW Department of the Arts.

The Pheme Tanner Award is a biennial award presented as part of the La Trobe University, Bendigo Children's Literature Conference. It is jointly sponsored by La Trobe University, Bendigo and the Business and Professional Women's Association (BPWA) of Bendigo. It is presented to recognize distinguished service to Children's Literature and the encouragement of the joys of reading in children.

The award commemorates Miss Euphemia Tanner (1914 - 1993), who was the Bendigo Library's Children's Librarian from 1946 to 1979 and one of the first full-time children's librarians in Australia. Her enthusiasm for literature and wide knowledge of children's books influenced a generation of readers. Her greatest reward, she said, was to know that she had left so many children with a love of books and introduced them to the joys of reading.
She was also President and long time member of the BPWA, raising issues of the status of women in professional life. She took a firm and determined stand on many situations and projects that affected not only her own professional life, but also those of her staff, her peers and all professional women.

Miss Tanner was energetic and enthusiastic, often single-minded and forthright. She made immense contribution to the strong traditions of libraries and children's literature in Bendigo, and was responsible for generations of children in central Victoria reading widely, critically and well.

Established in 1995. Sponsored by the La Trobe University, Bendigo and the Business and Professional Women's Association (BPWA) of Bendigo.

Each year the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales hosts the Whitley Awards. These awards are a tribute to Gilbert Whitley, an eminent Australian ichthyologist. The awards are presented for outstanding publications (in printed or electronic form) that contain a significant amount of information relating to the fauna of the Australasian region. These publications may be highly technical works or they may be for wider and more general readership. The Whitley Awards were first presented in 1979. The Awards include one for Children's Publication.

Established in 1979. Sponsored by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.

The Young Australian Readers' Award is the first national, online students choice award in Australia. Read our students' reviews of the latest titles from the best Australian authors, read the books for yourself and then, in October, vote for your favourite!

Established in 2001. Sponsored by various parties.