AWARDS AND PRIZES
International
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominee 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominee 2015
International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Book List 2014 for The Golden Day
Luchs (Lynx ) Award for Children's Literature for July 2012 for The Golden Day (in German Nicht Jetz, niemals )
YALSA (Division of the American Library Association) Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults Nominee 2010 for The Word Snoop
White Ravens International Youth Library 2019 for Midnight at the Library
White Ravens International Youth Library 2007 for The Red Shoe
White Ravens International Youth Library 1996 for The First Book of Samuel
Australian
2018 Sydney University Lifetime Achievement Award, School of Education and Social Work
STATE LITERARY AWARDS
2009 Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award The Word Spy
2007 Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award The Red Shoe
2006 Winner Queensland Premier's Literary Award The Red Shoe
2006 Winner Victorian Premier's Literary Award Theodora’s Gift
2006 Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award Theodora’s Gift
2004 Winner Adelaide Festival Award for Literature Abyssinia
1995 Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award The First Book of Samuel
1994 Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award The White Guinea Pig
1994 Winner Victorian Premier's Literary Award The White Guinea Pig
2018 Shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The Blue Cat
2014 Shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards for Violet Vanishes
2012 Shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The Golden Day
2011 Shortlisted Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards The Golden Day
2004 Shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Abyssinia
2003 Shortlisted Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards Abyssinia
2001 Shortlisted Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards The Game of the Goose
2001 Shortlisted Younger Readers The Game of the Goose
1996 Shortlisted Adelaide Festival Award for Literature The First Book of Samuel
RESIDENCIES
2015 Keesing Studo, Paris residency
2014, 2017 May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust | Creative Time Fellowship
2013 Don Bank Writer in Residence North Sydney Council
CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS
2019 Longlisted Picture Book of the Year Midnight at the Library
2018 Longlisted, Younger Readers The Blue Cat
2013 Honour Book, Early Childhood Too Many Elephants In This House
2012 Shortlisted, Older Readers The Golden Day
2011 Winner, Book of the Year, Information Books The Return of the Word Spy
2011 Shortlisted, Younger Readers The Deep End
2010 Shortlisted, Early Childhood The Terrible Plop
2009 Honour Book, Information Books The Word Spy
2007 Honour Book, Older Readers The Red Shoe
2006 Shortlisted, Picture Books Rex
2001 Shortlisted Younger Readers The Game of the Goose
1996 Honour Older Readers The First Book of Samuel
1995 Shortlisted Older Readers The White Guinea Pig
1994 Shortlisted Younger Readers The Last Week in December
CHILDREN'S CHOICE AWARDS
2012 Winner COOL Awards The Terrible Plop
2009 Winner CBC Junior Judges' Project The Word Spy
PRIME MINISTER'S LITERARY AWARDS
2010 Shortlisted The Terrible Plop
SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA AWARDS
2020 Shortlisted Book of the Year The Boy who could Fly Ask Hercules Quick
2013 Inducted into the Speech Pathology Australia Hall of Fame
2009 Winner Book of the Year Award The Terrible Plop
AUSTRALIAN FAMILY THERAPISTS' AWARDS FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
1995 Commended The First Book of Samuel
1990 Commended High Hopes
DAVITT AWARDS FOR CRIME FICTION
2014 Shortlisted for The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno (and Alberta): The Perplexing Pineapple and The Looming Lamplight
2012 Highly Commended The Golden Day
AWARDS, by individual book
NOVELS
The Blue Cat
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 2018, Shortlisted
Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2018, Longlisted
The Golden Day
Luchs (Lynx ) Award for Children's Literature July 2012 (Germany)
IBBY International Board on Books for Young People Honour Book List 2013
Publishers' Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2013
Booklist Editor's Choice Books for Youth 2013
Wall Street Journal's Top Ten Children's Books of 2013.
Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2012, Shortlisted
Adelaide Festival Award for Literature 2012, Shortlisted
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 2012, Shortlisted
Queensland Premier's Literary Award 2011, Shortlisted
Davitt Award for crime fiction 2012, Highly Commended
The Red Shoe
Reading Australia 2015
National Reading Day 2007
Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 2007
Winner Queensland Premier's Literary Award 2006
Honour Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2007
White Ravens International Youth Library 2007
Theodora’s Gift
Winner Victorian Premier's Literary Award 2006
Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 2006
Abyssinia
Winner Adelaide Festival Award for Literature 2004
Shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 2004
Shortlisted Queensland Premier's Literary Award 2003
The Game Of The Goose
Shortlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2001
Shortlisted Queensland Premier's Literary Award 2001
The First Book of Samuel
Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 1995
Honour Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 1996
Shortlisted Adelaide Festival Award for Literature 1996
Commended Family Therapists' Award for Children's Literature 1995
White Ravens International Youth Library 1996
The White Guinea Pig
Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 1994
Winner Victorian Premier's Literary Award 1994
Shortlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 1995
The Last Week in December
Shortlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 1994
High Hopes
Commended Family Therapists' Award for Children's Literature 1990
NON-FICTION
The Word Spy
Winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Award 2009
Winner Children's Book Council of Australia Junior Judges' Project 2009
Honour Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2009
YALSA (Division of the American Library Association) Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults nominee 2010 for The Word Snoop (US/Canadian edition)
The Return of the Word Spy
Winner Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2011
PICTURE BOOKS
Midnight at the Library
White Ravens International Youth Library 2019
Longlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year 2019
Too Many Elephants in This House
National Simultaneous Storytime 2014
Honour Book, Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2013
The Terrible Plop
Winner Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award 2009
Shortlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2009
Shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2010
Rex
Winner KOALA Children's Choice Picture Book Award 2009
Shortlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2006
ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
The Deep End
Shortlisted Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2011