CEO Jane Fraser shares the latest news on awards and international rights sales
I hope all of you have been enjoying a lovely holiday weekend. Thanks for tuning in to help me digest my chocolate eggs and to reflect on the month that was.
Bingeing on chocky eggs reminded me to share our exciting (egg-citing?) news about James Foley’s Chickensaurus, which has just been made a notable book in the inaugural Australian Library and Information Association’s Graphic Novels and Comics List. In his email to us, James said, ‘It’s wonderful to have your work recognised, especially by Australian librarians who specialise in graphic novels and comics. Thanks for putting Chickensaurus on the inaugural longlist!’ Since then James has had much more to celebrate as he and partner Renae Hayward welcomed bub number two. Welcome to the world, little Amelia (your first board books are in the post!).
Jumping from one notable book to another, Littlelight by Kelly Canby made the CBCA 2021 Notables list in the Picture Book of the Year category. That came in the same week that Klidarithmos Publications EPE in Athens purchased the Greek-language rights for Littlelight and The Hole Story, showing just how well Kelly’s stories cross borders with her accessible and recognisable themes.
We were delighted to see Yuot A. Alaak’s memoir, Father of the Lost Boys, on the shortlist for the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction in the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards. It’s a well-deserved accolade for a book Yuot is justifiably proud of.
Novelist Madelaine Dickie also tackled narrative non-fiction this year with her contribution to the Australian surf anthology Lines to the Horizon. Madelaine was one of just 20 authors chosen from almost 300 applicants to win a place in the 2021 Award Mentorship Program for Writers and Illustrators. Thanks to the Australian Society of Authors and the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, she’ll get to work with an experienced mentor to help develop her forthcoming biography of Indigenous leader Wayne Bergmann for publication.
Literary awards can be such a bonus, leading to new opportunities for authors and their books. So, it’s with great pleasure that I can congratulate all four Fremantle Press authors upon their achievements this month.
Till next month! Jane
