Prime Minister’s Literary Award Winners for Kids and YA

For 2016, the award for Children’s Fiction went to Sister Heart by Sally Morgan.

A young Aboriginal girl is taken from the north of Australia and sent to an institution in the distant south. There, she slowly makes a new life for herself and, in the face of tragedy, finds strength in new friendships.

Poignantly told from the child’s perspective, Sister Heart affirms the power of family and kinship.

The prize for Young Adult Fiction was awarded to Meg McKinlay for A Single Stone:

Every girl dreams of being part of the line – the chosen seven who tunnel deep into the mountain to find the harvest. No work is more important. Jena is the leader of the line – strong, respected, reliable. And – as all girls must be – she is small; her years of training have seen to that. It is not always easy but it is the way of the things. And so a girl must wrap her limbs, lie still, deny herself a second bowl of stew. Or a first. But what happens when one tiny discovery makes Jena question everything she has ever known? What happens when moving a single stone changes everything? Ages 9-12

Head here to see the winners for the adult awards, or here to see the other shortlisted books!