Announced in Hobart today, the CBCA winners in the Older Readers’ category were:

Book of the Year: Claire Zorn, One Would Think the Deep (see review here)

Honour book: Cath Crowley, Words in Deep Blue

Honour book: Zana Fraillon, The Bone Sparrow

(Did you pick the winner this year? I never do…)

This year’s winners were among 600 Australian authors and illustrators, who created over 400 titles selected for the 2017 notables list!

As noted in a Sydney Morning Herald commentary on the CBCA awards this weekend, many of this year’s shortlisted books touched on friendships and families:

In a strong year where friendship and family were the dominant themes… Claire Zorn’s One Would Think the Deep, (which) captures the grief and anger of 17-year-old Sam following the unexpected death of his mother and how he learns to move on. Children’s Book Council of Australia reveal the best books of 2017, August 19, 2017

Claire’s previous books have also won prestigious nominations and awards, such as CBCA Book of the Year in 2015 for the Protected, CBCA Honour Book for the Sky so Heavy in 2014, along with Premier’s Literary awards along the way. Truly a creative talent to keep an eye on. You can more about her, and how she writes, on her blog here.

Of course, even Claire would look up to another winner in these awards, who has been winning great accolades since 1986 – Bob Graham, Australian author and illustrator of children’s picture books! Bob won again this year with his book called Home in the Rain – “a tender, touching story of family life, perfect for sharing when a new baby is on the way. A beautifully observed celebration of the way inspiration can, and often does happen in the most ordinary and unlikely of places.” (Walker Books)

As stated above, there are many more wonderful titles to enjoy if you take a look at the Notables list for 2017. Happy reading!

For the complete list of winners for 2017 (Picture Books, Younger Readers, etc) see the CBCA site. Happy Book Week!