Book Links Mentorship 2024
The Book Links Mentorship is open to all member of Book Links residing in Australia.
Applicants were invited to submit a synopsis and the first two chapters or first 6000 words of a work of fiction for either junior or YA readers, or two picture book manuscripts.
The winner was announced at Book Links StoryArts Brisbane Conference on Saturday 19 October.
The winner is Yvonne Mes for Novaraptor.
This verse novel for middle grade readers is extremely well written and crafted. Nova’s childhood obsession with dinosaurs might be interpreted as a metaphor for change. Her friends have grown out of the same obsession, but Nova wants to stay in Grade 6 forever so that she doesn’t have to go to high school, or to develop new interests, or to leave her dinosaurs behind. Meanwhile, Nova’s brother Tom is struggling to have his real identity acknowledged. The interpolated researched details about dinosaurs and archaeology add a rich layer to this very imaginative work. The journey for Nova and her family is difficult and the school bully Roy makes it even harder for Nova and Tom. This is an impressively sophisticated and touching work in which poetic writing is crafted with wit and aplomb.
Conclusion
I congratulate all the shortlisted authors for their skills and dedication to their writing. I also congratulate Book Links (QLD) for their continuing encouragement of emerging writers via this program. I have very much enjoyed judging it again and look forward to mentoring the winner in due course.
Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright AM
JUDGE’S REPORT
The strong field of junior fiction entered this year made it difficult to settle on a shortlist. There were also some excellent picture book concepts. The final list (in alphabetical order below) includes five novels and one picture book manuscript. The latter is a well-researched alphabet of medieval social history. The five novels are as disparate as they might be: An inventive fantasy/realism in which a young girl visits a subterranean cavern where she meets the Ancients (a society of cats); a story of lost children set against a pantheon of Sri Lankan Gods; an action/adventure narrated in two voices; an accomplished and insightful verse novel; and an impressive historical fiction set in 1930s WA. ‘Voice’ was the key element in each manuscript that earned it a place in this shortlist.
The Shortlist for the Book Links mentorship (in alphabetical order) is:
Jenny Catalano The Book of Smells: Medieval A – Z (PB)
Helen Gearing Gracie the Diamond (JF)
Cymbeline Buhler King Short Cut Home (JF)
Liane McDermott Fractured (JF)
Yvonne Mes Novaraptor (JF)
Rebecca Sheraton The Great Emu War (JF)
This year we are offering some extra support to some of the shortlisted authors. Dave Lowe will offer a 90-min session (either face-to-face or over Zoom) to all the JF shortlisted books (not including the winner). This will be limited to the first three chapters / 6,000 words of the manuscript.
