Here at Booked Out, there’s nothing more exciting for us than seeing our authors’ hard work acknowledged. Whether that’s in the form of a fan letter or a major prize, we are proud to represent authors whose works are universally loved and enjoyed all over Australia and the world.

Today, Booked Out would like to extend a huge congratulations to Steven Herrick and Michael Gerard Bauer, who have both been the recipients of major literary awards this week.

Performance poet Steven Herrick has been making waves internationally, as he has just won The German Children’s Literature Award (Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis) for his verse novel By the River. This is a state-sponsored prize, intended to encourage the development of children’s and young adult literature. The prize is open to German-language books, and titles by foreign-language authors, as long as they have been translated into German.

The prize was announced on Friday night at the Frankfurt Book Fair, in front of an audience of 1,600 people.

It’s safe to say Steven’s fans are spread far and wide!

On the home front, today Michael Gerard Bauer has won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for his latest Young Adult novel, The Things That Will Not Stand. The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards celebrate outstanding literary talent in Australia, and the valuable contribution Australian writing makes to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life.

Congratulations to both Steven and Michael – we can’t wait to see what you do next.