Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Children's Book Award

ASLA is proud to have partnered with best-selling and award-winning children's author Kate Foster to support the ASLA DANZ Children’s Book Awards.

Following a hugely successful first year, the ASLA DANZ Awards are returning in 2025 bigger and better in their quest to reward and celebrate diverse and ground-breaking children’s literature. 

The ASLA DANZ Awards celebrate diverse children’s fiction published in Australia and New Zealand. The awards honours books that challenge stereotypes, push boundaries, and highlight diverse and marginalised communities, including those representing disability, culture, LGBTQI+, race and religion. 

The ASLA DANZ Awards aim to encourage inclusivity and spotlight authentic representation, providing marginalised voices with recognition and support. They also aims to influence book-buyers and educators to prioritise such works. The awards spotlight the wonderful books which provide mirrors, windows and sliding doors into different lives, and build empathy and understanding of people from all walks of life.

Message from the President of ASLA

 The ASLA DANZ Awards not only recognise fiction that celebrates diverse voices and experiences: the longlist is a valuable curation tool for school libraries, teachers, booksellers and parents. It is a comprehensive listing of the books that not only have sensitive and accurate representation of marginalised people and groups, they are books that have, most importantly, been given a seal of approval by children themselves 

Martha Iztcovitz, President of ASLA

Key dates:

• Longlist will be announced in January 2025
• Shortlist will be announced in March 2025
• Winners will be crowned at the ASLA Conference in May 2025

Visit the ASLA DANZ Awards website