Alison Lester and Boori Pryor have been named Australia's first-ever Children’s Laureates. As the Sydney Morning Herald reported, Lester and Pryor will travel to every state and territory in the country during their two-year terms, “to inspire as many children to read as possible.” The Laureate position is an initiative of the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance, a group of people involved in children’s publishing or children’s book promotion who have been working toward establishing the position for more than three years.
According to Dyan Blacklock, publisher of Omnibus Books and acting chair of the ACLA, “The appointment of two creators to the position was an unusual one, but Australia is such a vast country it was felt that two people would bring stronger representation to the children across the length and breadth of the land.”
More information on the Laureates and their projects can be found here, and a photographic recounting of the Laureate ceremony can be seen here.
