From the desk of our President Margot Hillel OAM

Dear Colleagues
 
As another busy and productive year at the CBCA comes to a close and we enter the festive season, I want to give my special thanks to you, your Branch committees and all your volunteers for your efforts and the countless hours that you’ve put into the CBCA this year. It has been wonderful to see your Branches connecting with members and local communities and promoting literature and literacy through a calendar of informative and engaging events. The work you do at this grassroots level brings to life the CBCA vision of nurturing a literate, educated and creative society.
 
The National Board and its various sub-committees have also had a big year and I have a few final updates to share with you.
 
One CBCA
Following the meeting in Canberra last month of the Structural Review Working Party I attended the final branch meeting in this stage of the process, in NSW. The Working Party and Board are now working on the next steps which, in summary, will:
Identify Taskforces needed to report to the integration team; prepare the Integration Proposal for branches to consider; prepare a draft budget and document budget processes; identify required legal and constitutional steps; and complete a review of best practice national processes.
Many of you will be involved in these working parties and the Board will keep you all informed of progress. The Board will continue to work with NSW and Victoria to try to resolve the outstanding concerns they have. 
 
Evergreen Merchandise Launch
Thank you for your support of our evergreen merchandise collection on Redbubble. Freya Blackwood’s Escape to Everywhere artwork and Bob Graham’s 1992 Windows into Worlds are now live on this print-on-demand website at this link.
Through this initiative we hope to share beautiful CBCA Children’s Book Week artwork from our archives with a broader audience and also generate an additional income stream. Redbubble offers us an easy, low-cost platform.
Sales from our first few weeks have been encouraging and we’ve received some positive feedback from Branches regarding the product quality. Keep an eye out for Shaun Tan’s Australia, Story Country! artwork in the New Year!
 
BOYA 2019 theme – voting open now!
Don' t forget to cast your vote for the 2019 CBCA Book Week theme at this link. Voting will close on February 5, 2018. There are lots of themes to choose from!
 
Awards Process Review Working Party
Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey by the Awards Process Review Working Party. The exercise has provided the Board with valuable insights and extensive data about the Awards processes. This is now being analysed and I will report back to you about it in the New Year.
 
Australian Authors Nominated for International Literary Awards
Recently, several Australian authors and illustrators were nominated for the 2018 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals. Zana Fraillon’s The Ones That Disappeared and Garth Nix’s Goldenhand and Frogkisser have been nominated for the 2018 Carnegie Medal. Philip Bunting’s Mopoke, Bob Graham’s Home in the Rain, Stephen Michael King’s Pea Pod Lullaby (text by Glenda Millard) and Jane Tanner’s Storm Whale (text by Sarah Brennan) have been nominated for the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal. It is wonderful to see these talented creators recognised internationally.
 
Board Member Resignation
Debbie Hatswell, Director for Victoria, has resigned from the National Board to focus on her family and business. Debbie’s industry experience and expertise over the past three years have been invaluable. We will miss her very much but wish her the very best for her future.
 
Please forward this email to your Executive committees and members.
 
With best wishes to you all for a safe and happy holiday,
 
Margot.