The 2020 CBCA Shortlist is announced!

The Children’s Book Council of Australia has just announced the 2020 CBCA Shortlist! (UPDATE: see the winners here!)

The announcement was made on YouTube for the first time in CBCA history, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the CBCA National Chair, Professor Margot Hillel OAM, said:

“At a time like this, as we all know, books are really important and I hope you find some wonderful new books there to enjoy. Books give us solace, they help us develop empathy, and they can be fun just to read for enjoyment. There’s plenty there for everyone, so please enjoy and stay safe.”

Established in 1946, the CBCA Book of the Year awards are considered Australia’s most prestigious children’s literature prize. The winners will be revealed on Friday, 21st of August.

Scroll down to see the 2020 CBCA Shortlist!

Book of the Year: Older Readers

The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews

How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller

When the Ground is Hard by Malla Nunn

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

This Is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield

Book of the Year: Younger Readers

The Little Wave by Pip Harry

The Thing About Oliver by Deborah Kelly

The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble

Catch a Falling Star by Meg McKinlay

The Glimme by Emily Rodda & Marc McBride (Illustrator)

The Secrets of Magnolia Moon by Edwina Wyatt & Katherine Quinn (Illustrator)

Book of the Year: Early Childhood

We’re Stuck by Sue deGennaro

One Runaway Rabbit by David Metzenthen & Mairead Murphy (Illustrator)

Bat vs Poss by Alexa Moses & Anil Tortop (Illustrator)

When Billy Was a Dog by Kirsty Murray & Karen Blair (Illustrator)

My Friend Fred by Frances Watts & A. Yi (Illustrator)

Goodbye House, Hello House by Margaret Wild & Ann James (Illustrator)

Picture Book of the Year

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

Nop by Caroline Magerl

I NEED a Parrot by Chris McKimmie

Three by Stephen Michael King

The Good Son: A Story from the First World War, Told in Miniature by Jules Ober, Felicity Coonan & Pierre-Jacques Ober

Tilly by Anna Walker & Jane Godwin

Eve Pownall Award

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals by Sami Bayly

Searching for Cicadas by Lesley Gibbes & Judy Watson (Illustrator)

A Hollow is a Home by Abbie Mitchell & Astred Hicks (Illustrator)

Wilam: A Birrarung Story by Aunty Joy Murphy, Andrew Kelly & Lisa Kennedy (Illustrator)

Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

Yahoo Creek: An Australian Mystery by Tohby Riddle

New Illustrator Award

Grant Cowan – Louie and Snippy Save the Sea by Collette Dinnigan

Bethany Macdonald – Paperboy by Danny Parker

Jess McGeachin – Fly

Leanne Mulgo Watson – Cooee Mittigar by Jasmine Seymour

Jasmine Seymour – Baby Business

Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr – Little Bird’s Day by Sally Morgan

For more information about the 2020 CBCA Shortlist and the Children’s Book Council of Australia itself, click here

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Olivia Fricot

Olivia Fricot (she/her) is Booktopia's Senior Content Producer and editor of the Booktopian blog. She has too many plants and not enough bookshelves, and you can usually find her reading, baking, or talking to said plants. She is pro-Oxford comma.

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