Penguin Australia
Penguin Australia Named Publisher of the Year
Penguin took home nine awards, including the coveted Publisher of the Year award for the second year running at the 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). In a remarkable night, Penguin won nine of the twelve categories in which it had titles shortlisted including:
Book of the Year: Younger Children: Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
International Success Award: Penguin for Sonya Hartnett
Biography of the Year: The Lucy Family Alphabet by Judith Lucy
Book of the Year: Older Children: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
General Non-Fiction Book of the Year: The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper
Newcomer of the Year: Nam Le, The Boat
Penguin also won Marketing Campaign of the Year for the Popular Penguins campaign. United Book Distributors (Pearson Australia's warehouse) won Distributor of the Year.
Tim Winton Wins the Miles Franklin Literary Award
Tim Winton won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for a record-equalling fourth time in June for his acclaimed novel Breath. Commenting on his win, Winton said, "It's been a strong year for Australian novels. I'm stoked, of course, but also mindful that there are terrific writers who will be feeling pretty stiff tonight, because their books are more than good enough to have won. To some extent I feel like the kid who's simply left holding the parcel when the music stops."
It is 25 years since Winton won his first Miles Franklin for Shallows in 1984. His novels Cloudstreet (1992) and Dirt Music (2002) were also winners.
More Awards Success for Penguin Australia
Penguin Australia has made a clean sweep during the recent awards season:
At the NSW Premier's Literary Awards The Boat by Nam Le won the Book of the Year Award, A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz won the People's Choice Award, The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper won the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky & Tohby Riddle (illustr.) won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for children's literature.
At the 2009 Kibble Literary Awards Jacqueline Kent won the Kibble for An Exacting Heart: the story of Hephzibah Menuhin. At the Encore Awards in the UK, Australian writer Julia Leigh took home the award for best second novel for Disquiet. At the Michael L. Printz Awards in the US, Melina Marchetta won the award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature for her novel Jellicoe Road. While closer to home Guy Rundle's Down to the Crossroads won the non-fiction award at The Age Book of the Year Awards and Then by Morris Gleitzman and The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky and Tohby Riddle (illustr.) were both named Honour Books at the Children's Book Council Awards.
As The Bird goes to print Chloe Hooper's widely acclaimed book The Tall Man, seems set to claim an Australian record for the most awards in a year. The Tall Man has now won the non-fiction prize at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and Queensland Premier's Literary Awards. It's won the non-fiction category at The Indie Book of the Year and was judged the Winner General Non-Fiction at the Australian Book Industry Awards. The Tall Man also won the Davitt Award for True Crime and the Ned Kelly Award for Non-Fiction and was named the inaugural winner of the John Button Prize. It's also just been shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award and named a Finalist in the Melbourne Prize for Best Writing.
Penguin Australia to Publish Peter Carey's New Novel
Penguin will publish Peter Carey's new novel Parrot and Olivier in America. The book will hit stores in Australia and New Zealand in November, ahead of its international publication in 2010. According to Publisher Ben Ball, Parrot and Olivier in America rivals Carey's great comic masterpieces Illywhacker and Oscar & Lucinda.
"Carey has found a subject that allows his virtuoso imagination and powers of linguistic sorcery to operate at full throttle: the birth of modern America," said Ben Ball. The winner of two Booker Prizes, Peter Carey is one of Australia's finest novelists.
Sporting Greats Sign with Penguin Australia
Penguin has signed some of the biggest names in Australian sport in recent months. Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, one of the game's most decorated opening batsmen is writing his eagerly awaited memoir. The book is scheduled for a Christmas 2010 release, and will cover Hayden's time at the top during one of Australia's most dominant cricket eras.
In Australian Rules Football — there's much to be excited about with books coming from three of the games most famous AFL captains. Shane Crawford, the recently retired and much-loved former captain of the Hawthorn football team will write his autobiography due for a Father's Day publication in 2010. A Brownlow medallist (the game's highest individual honour), Crawford retired after finally winning a premiership in his 305th game.
Associate Publisher Andrea McNamara has signed Brad Johnson, the current captain and games record holder at the Western Bulldogs to write his autobiography and Geelong Football Club captain Tom Harley, who's working on a book on leadership. Both books are due for publication in the last half of 2010.