Christmas gremlins have started celebrating Christmas early!

Wrecking havoc in our systems, unfortunately we are currently experiencing some technical issues with our internet today. While we are working hard to bring all of our systems back online, at this stage we are sadly delayed in accessing our emails and database.

If you have an urgent query, we are very happy to speak to you over the phone. Please call (03) 9824 0177 and ask for your booking coordinator and we will be available to give you an update on your booking or enquiry. Thank you for your understanding.

Last week we caught Bri Lee in conversation with Nkechi Anele to discuss her newest release, Beauty. ⁣
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Exploring our obsession with thinness, Bri asks how an intrinsically unattainable standard of physical ‘perfection’ has become crucial to so many. A gripping and intelligent follow up to Eggshell Skull, Beauty is powerful, honest, thought-provoking and already making the rounds at Booked Out.

BIG BOOK NEWS!

Sue deGennaro’s picture book Missing Marvin (Scholastic) has won this year’s Children’s Peace Literature Award!⁣
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Convener of the judging panel Kate Prescott described Missing Marvin as a funny and gentle picture book showing how to address bullying and conflict in a peaceful way.⁣
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Annually presented to a book that ‘encourages the peaceful resolution of conflict’ and ‘promotes peace at the global, local or interpersonal level’, Missing Marvin teaches children to learn how to tackle their problems in an accessible and engaging way.⁣
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We are over the moon for Sue – congratulations! 🦌🌻

On Remembrance Day, we always turn to The Poppy by Andrew Plant, a beautiful picture book which is a true story of of remembrance and commemoration. Inspired by 2 years of research, The Poppy is an uplifting story dedicated to the memory of our Diggers.

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene! Today we’re closing the blinds, lighting the candles and picking up a spooky or tense book or two to set the mood… as it’s finally here! Happy Halloween everyone! Enjoy the treats and spooky fare 👻🤖👾🌙🎃🍬🍭

Pictured:

• Bitsy & Zelda Stitch, Worst Witch by Nicki Greenberg
• Huggabie Falls by Adam Cece
• Polly and Buster by Sally Rippin
• 300 Minutes of Danger by Jack Heath
• I Just Ate My Friend by Heidi McKinnon
• The Naughtiest Pixie by Ailsa Wild
• Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra
• Ting Ting the Ghosthunter by Gabrielle Wang

It was great to see so many of our authors represented at the YABBA Awards this morning at Camberwell Girls Grammar School.

These awards are special because they are voted on by Aussie kids themselves – no adults are involved! It was fantastic to see so many kids excited to see their favourite books honoured.

Congratulations to the winners:

• Picture Story Books
  Seriously, Do Not Open This Book!
  Andy Lee & Heath McKenzie

• Fiction For Younger Readers
  Bad Guys: Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?
  Aaron Blabey

• Fiction For Older Readers
  The 104-Storey Treehouse
  Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

• Fiction for Years 7-9
  Maybe
  Morris Gleitzman

And another huge congratulations to all the shortlisted Booked Out Speakers: Jane Godwin, Anna Walker, Michael Gerard Bauer, Jacqueline Harvey, Sally Rippin, Dan McGuiness, Tim Harris, Felice Arena, Deborah Abela, Jules Faber, Anna Ciddor, Michael Wagner, Belinda Murrell, George Ivanoff, Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, Fiona Wood, Jackie French and Claire Zorn!

Today is the day to #ThankYourTeacher as it’s #WorldTeachersDay!⁣
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No booking would go ahead without some heavy duty help from teachers – so today we would like to say a very well-earned THANK YOU for all of their hard work! 🙌⁣
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The majority of our working day is spent catching and chatting to teachers, so we are well aware of the highs and lows that come with the job. We extend a huge thanks to their continued championing of literacy and supporting local authors and illustrators. ⁣
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Illustration courtesy of  Anna Zobel, new speaker, illustrator and teacher herself 📝📚🏫

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.

Today is the International Day of the Girl, and to celebrate we are highlighting our female speakers who have contributed to a better world for girls and women.⁣
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Whether their contribution is to write stories about girls who won’t back down, or talking to girls across the country about how to be strong or brave in the face of struggle, these speakers are the champions for a better future for us all.⁣

• Bri Lee – author of Eggshell Skull
• Ally Watson – co-CEO of Code Like a Girl
• Lucinda Gifford – illustrator of Fairytales for Feisty Girls
• Lili Wilkinson – author of Pink and After The Lights Go Out
• Clementine Ford – author of Fight Like a Girl
• Lee Kofman – author of Imperfect and Split
• Ruth Clare – author of Enemy
• Alex Miles – author of Girl Geeks series
• Nicole Hayes – author and podcaster: The Outer Sanctum
• Sumaya Harare – speaks on self-love and overcoming bullying
• Sarah Ayoub – author of Hate is Such a Strong Word
• Tasneem Chopra – activist and feminist
• Samantha Gash – record breaking endurance runner