CBCA WA June 2020 Newsletter

WA Branch Newsletter
View Email in Browser

Dear Members,

The WA Branch AGM held on Wednesday 17 June was very well attended and I am especially thrilled to report that we welcomed a record number of new members to the committee. Lorraine Horsley and Tania Longman, who joined part way through last year, were formally welcomed and we are delighted to introduce our newest recruits – Sarah Klass, Tyshana McEwen, Natalya Simon, Kris Williams (in absentia) and Tracey Willis. We look forward to working with them all and sharing the expertise and fresh perspectives they will bring to CBCA WA. Collaborations and partnerships with like-minded organisations are critically important in the children’s literature world so it is wonderful to be able to strengthen our connection to LIFT, The Literature Centre and WASLA by having Tracey, Natalya and Sarah on board.

The 2019 Annual Report was tabled and has now been uploaded to the CBCA WA Branch website here, and we gratefully acknowledged the service of several members who stepped down from significant roles. Angela Briant, who resigned recently as our WA Branch Board representative was thanked for her longstanding commitment to CBCA over many years in various roles including Board Chair, Tasmanian Board Director and Independent Board Director as well as for her tremendous support of the WA Branch. Trish Montgomery, Liz Allen and Denise Robins were thanked for outstanding service as Merchandise Coordinator, Secretary and Vice President respectively and we are grateful that they are remaining on the committee.

The new Executive elected for 2020/2021 is: President: Jan Nicholls, Vice President: Position Vacant, Secretary: Kris Williams, Treasurer: Sheena Matthews.

We have received several expressions of interest in the position of WA Branch Board Director and hope to make an appointment as soon as possible. In the interim I have taken on the role and attended my first CBCA Board meeting via Zoom on Monday 15 June. COVID-19 continues to present challenges but there is much positive work going on behind the scenes and we hope to be able to celebrate CBCA Book Week in great style in October. Following the success of the live-streamed CBCA Shortlist announcement which was widely regarded as hugely inclusive and very exciting, similar plans are being investigated for the announcement of the Book of the Year winners on Friday 16 October. We shall keep you posted as details are finalised but if you are not already a member of our Facebook group, I encourage you to join, as that is a great forum for sharing the most up to date information at local Branch as well as at national level.

The CBCA Book Week designs by Gwyn Perkins are colourful and quirky and we are pleased to announce that our WA Branch merchandise form is now available and we are taking orders. Please note that we rely on your support in purchasing merchandise from the WA Branch rather than the national eStore. Purchasing via the order form on the WA Branch website not only offers you a generous member discount but generates funds to help us run our events and programs. The order form is available for download here and will be mailed to schools and libraries before the end of Term 2.

I hope you are faring well in these challenging times and that your plans for CBCA Book Week are progressing well. I look forward to being able to see you at an actual event in the near future.

Best wishes,

Jan Nicholls
CBCA WA Branch President

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

The CBCA Book of the Year Awards announcement has been moved to Friday October 16 and CBCA Book Week 2020 will run from October 17-23.

Please save Friday 16 October and look forward to being able to join us for the WA Branch Dinner. Stand by for further details as the COVID-19 restrictions ease and firm decisions can be made.

The WA Branch merchandise order form is sampled below.
It will be available to download here.

We invite you to enjoy the free downloadable activities for CBCA Book Week 2020 created by Gwyn Perkins.

Using the Curious Creatures, Wild Minds theme, Gwyn Perkins has created colouring posters, bookmarks and a special Draw your own curious creature activity to allow children to invent their own. All are available for download from our WA Branch website as well as the CBCA Book Week Resources page on the National website: https://cbca.org.au/book-week-resources

Why not take advantage of this extended deadline and inspire your students to enter this fun competition? The final date for acceptance of MYOSB entries will be Friday 24th JULY 2020.

This extension allows for COVID-19 and possible mail delivery disruptions.

Our judges look forward to reading the 2020 entries and we all look forward to celebrating a new crop of talented young writers and artists at the Awards Presentation ceremony in October.

For further enquiries: please email Denise Robins on myosbwa@cbca.org.au

Super Sidekicks 2: Ocean’s Revenge by Gavin Aung Than and Eco Rangers: Microbat Mayhem written by Candice Lemon-Scott and illustrated by Aśka have been shortlisted for the Fiction Category of the 2020 Environment Award for Children's Literature. Please read more here.

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History by Bruce Pascoe, published by Magabala Books, has made the shortlist for the Booksellers' Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards in the Children’s Book of the Year category. Winners will be announce 8 July. Please read more on the Books and Publishing website.

Devil’s Ballast by Meg Caddy and Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard have been shortlisted for the Readings Young Adult Book Prize. Winners will be announced in late July. Please read further details on the Readings blog.

Congratulations to Meg McKinlay who has won the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Australia and New Zealand for her novel Catch a Falling Star. Please read more details here.

Congratulations to Shaun Tan who has won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal 2020 with his book Tales from the Inner City. Please read more in an article from the Allen and Unwin website.

The Book Discussion Group will continue to meet via Zoom during winter. Please contact Gail at gailspiers@iinet.net.au if you would like to join us.

Here are the amazing books for the next three months.

24 June

Deep Water
by Sarah Epstein
Allen & Unwin

Sarah Epstein’s first book, Small Spaces, was a CBCA 2019 Book of the Year: Older Readers Honour Book.

22 July

A New Kind of Everything
by Richard Yaxley
Scholastic

Richard Yaxley won the 2018 Prime Minister’s Award for Young Adult Literature.

26 August

The End of the World is Bigger than Love
by Davina Bell
Text Publishing

This is award-winning author, Davina Bell’s first book for Young Adults.

In November 2019 CBCA invited branch members to promote and donate to this campaign, to raise funds for children and families affected by the devastating bushfires.The response resulted in a total of $14,357.

The GIVIT regional teams have spent the past months working with local organisations to identify those who would benefit from these donations.

At the request of the CBCA, all of the funds were spent through local independent bookstores in NSW and Victoria. We owe thanks to Jackie French and her editor, Kate O'Donnell, who first contacted the national office with an idea to distribute books to ease the bushfire trauma experienced by children and families.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this worthy cause.

Muriel Barwell OA with Jan Nicholls, the 2018 Award recipient.

Nominations are still open for this prestigious award but you only have until the end of the month. If you know someone who has demonstrated significant service to children’s literature beyond his or her professional commitments over a period of time in Western Australia then please submit a nomination to Gail Spiers at gailspiers@iinet.net.au by 30 June.

Past award winners: Peter Williams (2006), Mary Gimondo (2008), Frané Lessac (2010), Elaine Forrestal (2012), Jenni Woodroffe (2014), Celia Cole (2016) and Jan Nicholls (2018).

For more information about eligibility and nominations please click here.

The Literature Centre is offering a reduced fee for In-School workshops. You can find more information on their website.

Paper Bird invite you to subscribe to their Home Club channel on Youtube. This is a fabulous show were we can see the home studios of our beloved local authors and illustrators such as Meg McKinlay, Mark Evans, Michael Speechley, Frané Lessac and many more. For more information please see the Paper Bird Home Club page.

VALE Dr Alison Gregg 10 June 1939 – 1 April 2020

The WA Branch notes with sadness, the passing of Life Member Dr Alison Gregg on 1 April 2020.
In December 2008 Dr Alison Gregg was elected a Life Member of the CBCA WA Branch after many years of dedicated and professional service including as WA Branch President in 1985 and as a judge for the Book of the Year awards in 1996-7.
At the presentation Alison commented “my long association with CBCA WA has been a joy. I’ve met so many wonderful people, read so many books that I might have missed without that impetus, and felt so gratified that I could contribute in some small way to the continuing goal of bringing books and young people together – getting the right book at the right time to the right reader. It’s been my mission in life since I first discovered that joy for myself. This award means more to me than almost any other honour. Thank you all so much and long may CBCA WA continue to enthuse and open new worlds of imagination for young readers – just as it did for me in those early Book Week exhibitions at Perth Town Hall. Long may it prosper!”

Jan Nicholls

VALE Judith Clarke

Judith Clarke passed away on 14 May in Melbourne. She was 76 years old. Please read an obituary here.

VALE Dr Jesse Blackadder

We are saddened to hear Jesse Blackadder has passed away after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. She had very recently celebrated her 56th birthday. Please read an article here.

If you have a picture of a child, pet or any other interesting-bookish moment you'd like to share with our community to feature in our electronic newsletter, we'd love to see it! Please email it to beckborona@gmail.com.