CBCA 2026 Shortlist: My nonno Loves!

There are certain moments in life that feel impossible to put into words. Finding out that My Nonno Loves has been shortlisted for the Early Childhood category in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards is one of them.

As a child, the little CBCA sticker on the front of a book meant everything to me. Those books felt special. Important. Magical. They were the books teachers read aloud, the books displayed in libraries, the books you carried around proudly because somehow that small shiny sticker promised that something wonderful was waiting inside.

I honestly never imagined that one day I might see that same sticker placed on a book with my name on it.

It feels surreal.

My Nonno Loves was created from such a personal place. Inspired by family, memory, food, rituals, love, and the quiet ways care is passed between generations. To see it connect with readers, teachers, booksellers, librarians, and now the CBCA community means more than I can properly express.

The shortlist itself is incredible, and every single book included is beautiful and deeply deserving. To be alongside so many talented creators is already a huge honour.

The winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week in August. I am so thankful for my readers, for children’s literature, for classrooms and libraries, for my publishing team, for my illustrator sister Claudia, and for the child version of me who loved books so much.

She would think this was pretty amazing.