The Booked Out team have been eagerly anticipating the announcement of the theme for Book Week 2019 (17th – 23rd August 2019), and it is finally here!

We were excited to get the news this week that the theme for 2019 is….(drum roll please):

“READING IS MY SECRET POWER”

We can’t wait to hear more.

If you’re already planning for Book Week 2019, do get in touch. The earlier you are, the better chance of securing your first choice author or illustrator! Of course, if you are unsure what kind of visit you’d like, let us give you some recommendations – we are experts at finding that perfect person for your school.

Keep an eye on the CBCA website for more updates: https://cbca.org.au/news/cbca-book-week-2019

Demet Divaroren’s debut novel Living on Hope Street has been honored once again – shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for 2018 in the Young Adult category.

Judges had plenty of praise to dish out, commenting:

“In this powerful debut novel, Demet Divaroren authentically portrays the everyday lives of a number of working class families as they come to terms with a range of challenging contemporary issues in a suburban street. Each of the central characters is richly drawn as they share their individual stories … Living on Hope Street is an honest and thought-provoking celebration of human courage and resilience; the importance of family and friendship; the need to build intercultural understandings; and the hopefulness that can foster new beginnings.”

Go Demet!

Check it out! Primary speakers Anna Walker and Belinda Murrell have both been shortlisted for the 2018 Environment Award for Children’s Literature.

Anna’s award-winning and stunning Florette has been shortlisted for Picture Fiction, accompanying Belinda’s fantastic Pippa’s Island 1: The Beach Shack Cafe under the Fiction category.

Winners will be announced in October 2018 – keep an eye on the EACL website here for updates, and to download a poster with all the titles for a colourful addition to your classroom.

Anna is available to be booked in Melbourne for Book Week 2019, and Belinda can visit schools all year round in Sydney.

How excited are we to get our paws on Rosalie Ham’s new release, The Year of the Farmer! Timely and magnificent, Rosalie’s new title is set in a quiet farming town in regional New South Wales where a war is brewing…

“The last few years have been punishingly dry, especially for the farmers, but otherwise, it’s all Neralie Mackintosh’s fault. If she’d never left town then her ex, the hapless but extremely eligible Mitchell Bishop, would never have fallen into the clutches of the truly awful Mandy, who now lords it over everyone as if she owns the place.

So, now that Neralie has returned to run the local pub, the whole town is determined to reinstate her to her rightful position in the social order. But Mandy Bishop has other ideas. Meanwhile the head of the local water board – Glenys ‘Gravedigger’ Dingle – is looking for a way to line her pockets at the expense of hardworking farmers already up to their eyes in debt. And Mandy and Neralie’s war may be just the chance she was looking for…”

Fans of The Dressmaker are set to devour The Year of the Farmer, where drought is the last of the community’s problems, and small town country life is revealed in all it’s dark glory. Rosalie’s trademark satirical tone permeates The Year of the Farmer, and her black comedy is both pleasing and fantastically spot on.

We can’t wait to attend the book launch on this Thursday evening and our office copy is already being passed around like a hotcake! Make sure to keep an eye out for Rosalie in the upcoming months as she commences her promotional events around Victoria.

Booked Out is pleased to announce our newest speaker addition – Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands.

Chris has worked as journalist for more than thirty years, alternating between covering federal politics and international affairs. As a political correspondent, he reported from more than thirty countries across six continents.

Chris is the author of two successful and well-received non-fiction books, The River: A Journey through the Murray-Darling Basin and The Coast: A Journey along Australia’s Eastern Shores. The River recounts Chris’ travels through the Australian bush during 2008 and 2009, from Queensland to South Australia, at the height of the worst drought in Australian history. It’s those travels and the people he met that provided the inspiration, and inform the setting, for Chris’s first work of fiction, Scrublands.

Already a no 1. bestseller, Scrublands has taken Australia by storm and is expected to make similar waves internationally.

As a former television and print journalist as well as a crime writer, Chris brings a wealth of experience to his talks. Perfect for library audiences and book clubs, Chris is available in Canberra and surrounding areas.

Whoo! We adore getting packages in the post, but nothing is more loved than when one of those packages is a new book from one of our lovely authors.

Michael Gerard Bauer‘s new YA novel The Things That Will Not Stand has finally been released and looks set to be a hit – with an interesting premise of Sebastian meeting the ‘wrong girl’.

Frida is an edgy and caustic storyteller whose stories begin to not quite add up the more that she speaks. The Things That Will Not Stand takes place in one unexpected and eventful day at a university open day.

Topped off with a beautiful cover, we are excited to add this to the Booked Out Book Club!

We loved seeing Booked Out Speakers Sofie Laguna and John Marsden on the ‘Stranger than Fiction’ Q&A special last night. They were joined by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, and Trent Dalton. If you missed it, catch up on the episode using the livestream here!

Some of those names look veeerrry familiar…

Booked Out are extremely proud to say that some of our favourite speakers have won or received honours in the 2018 CBCA Book of the Year Awards.

For the Older Readers Category, Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell and Fiona Wood take out first place for the very popular Take Three Girls.

Michael Gerard Bauer has also been awarded winner of the Early Childhood category, with the fantastic story Rodney Loses It!

Martine Murray has been recognised with Honours twice (!) in the Younger Readers category, with Booked Out favourites, Marsh and Me and Henrietta and The Perfect Night.

We give a HUGE congratulations to all of the winners and honoured authors!

Beloved teachers and librarians – it’s crunch time. Book Week is only a few days away… but don’t fear. If you’re after a super last minute visit, please give us a call on 03 9824 0177 and we can work our magic.

And it’s only thirteen more sleeps away! While it’s not Christmas, it’s really starting to feel like it.

Teachers, it’s time to get your reading voices ready: Book Week is now on the horizon.

While the Booked Out elves are busily finalising some last-minute visits, we welcome you to get in touch with any questions you might have about your upcoming bookings.

Though we are lucky to say that many of our fabulous speakers are all booked up for Book Week, there are still some spots remaining. So, don’t hesitate to give us a call if you are still after a special someone to speak at your school (Santa hat sadly not included)!