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Book Links Award for Historical Fiction (2021-)
Subcategory of Awards Australian Awards
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History

'A prize of $1000 will be awarded to an Australian book published in the last two years that is ‘not only an outstanding work of fiction but excels at increasing the awareness and developing the understanding of history in children’. Books written for an implied readership of up to 14 years are eligible for the prize.' 

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2023

winner y separately published work icon Waiting for the Storks Katrina Nannestad , Sydney : ABC Books , 2022 25391731 2022 single work children's fiction children's historical fiction

'The powerful new novel from master storyteller Katrina Nannestad.

'I don't want to remember the truck, or the night I was taken, or the family I left behind. I am not a sad Polish girl. I am a good and happy German girl.

'I am. I am. I am.

'It's the Second World War and Himmler's Lebensborn Program is in full flight when eight-year-old Zofia Ulinski is kidnapped by the Germans. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the other Polish children taken from their families and robbed of their names, their language, their heritage.

'But when Zofia is adopted into a wealthy and loving German family, it is easier, it is safer to bury her past, deep down, so everything is forgotten. Until the Polish boy arrives.

'And the past comes back to haunt her.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2022

winner y separately published work icon Cuckoo’s Flight Wendy Orr , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2021 20456546 2021 single work children's fiction children's historical fiction

'When Clio’s town in Bronze Age Crete is threatened by seafaring raiders, she faces the greatest sacrifice of all. Can Clio, her herd of horses and a new young friend find a way to change their destinies?

'When a raiders’ ship appears off the coast, the goddess demands a higher price than ever before to save the town – and Clio’s grandmother creates a sacred statue to save Clio’s life.

'But Clio is torn between the demands of guarding the statue and caring for her beloved horses. Disabled in an accident, she must try to put aside her own grief at no longer being able to ride – and in the process, save a friend’s life and stop a war.

'Rippling with emotion and drama, war and resistance, fear and determination, this novel is a brilliant companion to the highly acclaimed Dragonfly Song and Swallow’s Dance, and another thrilling adventure and survival story from the multi-award-winning author of Nim’s Island, Wendy Orr.' (Publication summary)

Year: 2021

winner y separately published work icon We Are Wolves Katrina Nannestad , Sydney : ABC Books , 2020 19829486 2020 single work children's fiction children's historical fiction

'Sometimes it's good to be wild.

'Sometimes you have to be wild.

'When the Russian Army marches into East Prussia at the end of the war, the Wolf family must flee. Liesl, Otto and their baby sister Mia find themselves lost and alone, in a blizzard, in the middle of a war zone. Liesl has promised Mama that she will keep her brother and sister safe.

'But sometimes, to survive, you have to do bad things. Dangerous things. Wild things.

'Sometimes to survive, you must become a wolf.' (Publication summary)

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