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Get the classroom thinking creatively, and help Quokka find a friend, with this free teaching activity. Working together or solo, kids can brainstorm the animals that a quokka would encounter on the beach and draw a friend for them.

Activity Sheet

'Draw a Friend for Quokka'

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Old Bertie by Perrella and Osborn is set in a dystopian society where all aspects of life are strictly controlled. In this new teaching activity, students can create their own dystopian society and the main character who lives in it, to help students connect world-building and character. Explore our free teaching notes for more classroom […]

Activity Sheet

'Two Old Bertie activity sheets'

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The creators of A New World Rises: Tales of a LEGO® Future pulled off a 12-hour build to win another season of LEGO® Masters, splitting $100,000 in prize money. Jackson and Alex teamed up with Fleur Watkins in a Jurassic Park-themed build that featured two mechanised flying dinosaurs attacking a monorail. Tensions were high with […]

Palyku creator Professor Helen Milroy has won the ASLA DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award with her chapter book Sunny & Shadow.   The DANZ Children’s Book Award recognises children’s books that challenge stereotypes and celebrate diverse and marginalised people and communities. It is designed to support educators and families when looking for books that provide accurate, fair and authentic representations of disability, culture, class, LGBTQIA+, race and religion in a way that […]

‘I am a Noongar girl and I live by the sea. This is wardan country. It’s a special place for me.’ I Call the Ocean Wardan is a new picture book by Ebony Froome, and illustrated by Dellas Bennell and Korrine Bennell-Yarran. A young Noongar girl reflects on her favourite things about wardan (the ocean […]

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'How Is Wardan Special to You?'

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Eight books representing nine writers have been shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award. They are in the running to win a $15,000 prize from a total pool of $120,000. Administered by the State Library of Western Australia, the Premier’s Book Awards support and promote authors, illustrators and publishers, while encouraging readers to engage […]

The Shameful Isles by David Price is in the running for the Margaret Medcalf Award. This is the second time the author has been shortlisted for the prize, which recognises excellence in research – particularly as it pertains to the use of materials housed in the State Records Office of Western Australia.  The Shameful Isles reveals […]

Worlds Within a World is a powerful collection of stories from five First Nations women. Edited by Ballardong Noongar woman Casey Mulder, these honest and wise reflections provide insight into what it means to grow up as a First Nations woman in the second half of the twentieth century. In this interview, authors Barb Hostalek, […]

Fremantle Press’s first permanent home, the SEC Substation at 10 Parry Street, is set to crackle and hum with the sound of new podcasts and new audiobooks, thanks to the generosity of Stott Hoare, in partnership with Microsoft. A dedicated podcast room with microphones, audio recording equipment, a big screen and a dedicated laptop were […]

Tim Winton won the first Environment Award for Children’s Literature back in 1994. Now, he and illustrator Cindy Lane are in the running for another award for Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder. CEO and publisher of the book, Alex Allan, said she was heartened by the recognition. Alex said, ‘This book acknowledges the profound part young […]

Relics from a legendary lost island, or just an elaborate hoax? Whatever the truth is behind the mysterious and legendary crystal skulls featured in The Crystal Skulls by Mark Greenwood, this is a chance for curious students to unleash their imagination. In the first free activity sheet, students can give their skull a name, some […]

Activity Sheet

'Invent a new crystal skull and investigate another ancient wonder activities'

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Bring geography to life with a treasure hunt! In this free activity inspired by The Unlucky Pirate by Mark Greenwood, students will design their own treasure map to a legendary hidden treasure. Don’t forget to draw landmarks and fill in the map legend! Then, after researching flags and their meanings, design your own pirate flag […]

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'Treasure Island and Pirate Flag Activities'

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Fremantle Press is pleased to announce the appointment of Louise Jones as Chair of Board and Sue Wilson as Deputy Chair. Louise replaces Clair Medhurst, who stepped down from the Board at the 2026 AGM. Longtime board members David Ansell and John Hoddinott have also stepped down. Louise Jones has been on the board for […]

Fremantle Press is happy to announce that Julia Lawrinson’s real-life tale of the Bonnie Vale mine rescue is in the running for the 2026 Book Links Award for Children’s Historical Fiction. The judges said the book brought Australia’s history vividly to life, thanks to Lawrinson’s insightful language. They said, ‘Real characters come to life on […]

Palyku creator Professor Helen Milroy has two books on the ASLA DANZ (Diversity in Austrlia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award shortlist: her picture book The Boab Tree and her chapter book Sunny & Shadow.   Children’s publisher Cate Sutherland said the books provided a First Nations perspective on the special connection to the place we call home and what happens when that gets severed. She said, ‘Both of Helen’s books are […]

Taking a moment to reminisce on Clair Medhurst’s history with Fremantle Press, current Chair of the Board Louise Jones shares some of her fondest memories of their time together. If I were to properly catalogue Clair’s contributions to Fremantle Press, and particularly her stewardship of the Board as Chair, over the past eight years this […]

Fremantle Press is pleased to announce Mabel Gibson will join our team, thanks to an Open Book Australian Publishing Internship. Mabel is one of four aspiring professionals who will work with publishing hosts from around Australia in an initiative that aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to our industry. Administered by the Australian Publishing Association […]

Award-winning crime author Dave Warner recently chatted to Will Yeoman at City of Perth Library about his novel, Sound Mind Dead Body. The recorded conversation is available to listen to on Imagining the Past: a podcast series by the Historical Novel Society Australiasia. Not only does Dave speak, he sings, accompanied by Will on guitar […]

Elders, memory, language, hunger, burning, flowering, flight … these are the different cycles around the life of a seed featured in Luisa Mitchell’s collection of poems, Song of the Shadow of a Seed. In this interview, Luisa speaks about writing toward healing, connection and truth-telling, the importance of truth-listening, and the hope that readers might […]

Shortlisted for the 2024 Hungerford Award, I Remember Everything is Fiona Wilkes’s debut novel. Crossing timelines, from Bristol in the 1980s to 2020 London, I Remember Everything takes a poignant look at first love, chosen family and coming out, just as the devastation of the AIDS epidemic looms. In this interview, Fiona reflects on the […]

Join popular Palyku author Helen Milroy as she explores and celebrates the creatures you can see at the beach. From pretty starfish to puffed-up blowfish, this fun and educational early reader picture book is filled with brightly illustrated beach buddies. In this new activity sheet, your young reader can colour in each buddy and write […]

Activity Sheet

'Who's your beach buddy?'

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Get to know our worl barna in this free teaching activity sheet! Worl Barna is the third book in a collection of board books by Jayden Boundry and Tyrown Waigana, all about our majestic, native sky creatures. Perfect for little readers, this activity invites them to colour in some winged friends, learn their names in […]

Activity Sheet

'Do you know your worl barna?'

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One Day Soon is a new verse novel by Cristy Burne, a powerful and moving insight into a boy’s emotional journey through the diagnosis and loss of an uncle to motor neurone disease, compounded by his father and family’s own 50% risk of inheriting the causative gene. Alex learns to appreciate the smaller, special moments […]

Activity Sheet

'Practise writing in free verse'

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This creative literacy activity doubles as an art project! Inspired by interactive poems in the poetry collection for children, If I Could Eat the Stars, this activity sheet invites students to play with words, build descriptive vocabulary and turn their writing into a poem shaped like an animal. Download the activity sheet and let students […]

Activity Sheet

'Write your own shape poem'

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