Alison McLennan Selected for the 2026 White Ravens List

             

The White Ravens List is an annual selection of outstanding international children’s and youth books curated by the International Youth Library (Internationale Jugendbibliothek) in Munich, Germany.

Established to promote cultural exchange and recognize exceptional literature, the list serves as a premier global guide for publishers, librarians, teachers, and parents looking for high-quality diverse books.

The selection process is a highly regarded curation effort. Each year, the library compiles a catalogue of outstanding newly published children’s and youth literature from around the globe.

Book Links is thrilled to announce that our member Alison McLennan is one of four Australians that have been added to the list with her book How to Get Rid of a Princess. What is amazing is that Alison pitched this book at the 2024 Book Links StoryArts Brisbane Conference (BSAB) and it was picked up by Hardie Grant.

Alison said, ‘I struggled for over a decade as a writer, with little to no knowledge about the craft of writing, the publishing industry, and the children’s literature community, before I was actually published. The reason for my change in fortune was finding Book Links, Write Links and most importantly, the StoryArts Brisbane conference for children’s writers and illustrators.

This biennial conference gave me the opportunity to soak up knowledge from experienced writers, illustrators and editors. I was able to directly network with editors from major publishing houses in Australia, who I would otherwise never have access to. Most importantly, I was able to purchase extremely affordable manuscript assessments with these editors to help improve my work and also pitch my work to a panel of publishing houses.

As a direct result of this, I was subsequently offered a publishing contract from Hardie Grant Publishing for my picture book, How to Get Rid of a Princess, which was released in 2025’.

 

How Books Are Selected

• The Selection Committee: A team of language and literature specialists at the International Youth Library evaluates thousands of books throughout the year. These specialists are experts in specific language groups and regional literatures.
• The Scope: The committee reviews books submitted directly by publishers or acquired through international book fairs, covering roughly 80 countries and 40 to 50 languages annually.
• The Final List: From these thousands of entries, the specialists narrow down the selection to approximately 200 titles for the final White Ravens Catalogue.

 Key Selection Criteria

Books are chosen based on their potential to appeal to international audiences due to their universal themes and exceptional quality. The jury specifically looks for:

• Universal Appeal: Stories that transcend national borders and can be appreciated by children from different cultures.
• Artistic & Literary Quality: Outstanding writing, innovative narrative structures, or exceptional illustration styles.
• Innovative Themes: Books that tackle complex, unusual, or pioneering topics for young audiences.

The White Ravens Catalogue is traditionally launched every autumn ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair, which takes place in October. The selected books are physically exhibited at the fair and later displayed at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy the following spring.

The PDF presenting 216 books in 46 languages and from 62 countries can be downloaded for free from their website.

Information on all books in the current list as well as the books from previous wrlists since 2011 can also be found in the White Ravens Database. 

Several Australian authors and illustrators have had their children’s and youth books selected for the International Youth Library’s prestigious White Ravens List.

Others selected for the 2026 list along with Alison are Pip Harry, Drift (Hachette Australia, 2025 A Lothian Children’s Book), Gary Lonesborough, Good young men (Allen & Unwin, 2026) and Matt Shanks, When the mountain wakes (Affirm Press, 2025). They can be found on pp. 22-24 of the catalogue.

Here are some notable Australian creators recognized on the list in other years:

• Peter Carnavas, author and illustrator of Leo and Ralph included in the 2025 list.
• Trace Balla, author and illustrator of Leaf-light: A Story About Caring for Each Other, included in the 2024 list.
• Anna Walker, creator of Snap!, included in the 2023 list.
• Caroline Magerl, author and illustrator of Piano Fingers included in the 2022 list.
• James Foley, author and illustrator of Stellarphant and The Last Viking series, included in the 2019 list.
• Sean Tan, author and illustrator of Cicada included in the 2019 list.
• Philip Bunting, author and illustrator of Mopoke, included in the 2018 list.
• Danny Parker, author and Matt Ottley, illustrator of Parachute, included in the 2014 list.
• Jackie French, author and Bruce Whatley, illustrator of Flood, included in the 2012 list.

If you search the database using the keyword Australia, you will find previously listed titles back to 2011.

Congratulations Alison!