The 2019 Winners!

Today, the winners of the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award for Children’s Literature were announced at the Hobart Writers Festival—it was such a pleasure to celebrate this year’s shortlisted authors with an amazing group of environmental children’s literature experts (and past winners too!).

A big congratulations to Trent Maxwell, David Lawrence and Peter Baldwin for winning the fiction category for Maxi the Lifeguard: The Stormy Protest; Rohan Cleave and Coral Tulloch for winning the Non Fiction category for Bouncing Back: An Eastern Barred Bandicoot Story; and Michael Speechley for winning the Picture Fiction category with The All New Must Have Orange 430.

Maxi the Lifeguard: The Stormy Protest: When Maxi and his friends discover that someone has been dumping rubbish into the ocean near Bondi, they are furious. Who would do such a thing, and why won’t anyone take them seriously when they report it? Luckily, Maxi has a plan – but exposing the polluter will hurt someone he cares about. Can Maxi find a way out of this messy situation? Get ready to hit the beach in this action-packed series from Bondi Rescue’s Lifeguard Maxi and Australian comedy writer David Lawrence.

Bouncing Back: An Eastern Barred Bandicoot Story: The Eastern Barred Bandicoot is one of Australia’s most threatened species. When their existence came under extreme threat from habitat loss, predators and human development, Eastern Barred Bandicoots found refuge in the most unlikely of places—a rubbish tip. This captivating true story details the plight these small, nocturnal marsupials faced, and the outstanding efforts that ensured their protection—even on the brink of extinction, there is hope for the survival of our most vulnerable species.

The All New Must Have Orange 430: A cheeky picture book for anyone who’s bought a thingy or whatsit . . . and doesn’t quite know why. In his debut picture book, Michael Speechley explores our obsession with stuff in a fun and edifying way.