Meet our esteemed judging panel for 2025! Alice Oehr (Artist and Illustrator), Jane Wilson (Publisher, Murdoch Books), Jordan Turner (Digital content creator and co-owner of Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore), Anna Walker (Illustrator and Author), Daniel New (Designer and Art Director), Nicola Hardcastle (Designer and Senior Lecturer at UTS), Amy Daoud (Designer), Catherine Milne (Head of Fiction, HarperCollins) and Susan Le (Designer and Art Director). Our nine judges are hard at work looking through each and every one of the more than 450 books. Look out for the longlist coming soon!

 

Alice Oehr is an artist and illustrator from Melbourne. Her distinct, colourful style incorporates a love of food, pattern, collage and drawing. She draws both for work and for fun, which has led her to teaching, speaking and writing on the subject. Her commercial work is sought-after by local and international clients and has appeared in numerous books as well as on textiles, homewares and large-scale installations. She has author-illustrated a number of award-winning books for both kids and adults.

 

Jane Willson is a publisher at Murdoch Books, based at Allen & Unwin’s East Melbourne office.  She has worked across the illustrated lifestyle space for a decade and finds (almost) nothing more thrilling than collaboration with an energised creative team. When it’s good, it’s really good. Casual shifts at Yarraville’s Sun Bookshop are up there for book-fuelled joy too. Books published by Jane have won or been shortlisted for ABIA Book of the Year; James Beard Book of the Year; the André Simon Awards; the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards; the Indie Illustrated Non-fiction Book of the Year; Kinokuniya Cookbook of the Year; The Tasmanian Literary Awards; and ABDA awards in multiple categories – including Designer’s Choice in 2024.

 

Jordan Turner is a digital content creator and co-owner of Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore (rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic). A former Creative Officer at T: The New York Times Style Magazine Australia, Jordan is a creative multi-hyphenate who combines all of his passions (fashion, art, design, literature and writing) to create digital content that tells a captivating story.

 

Anna Walker is an illustrator and author based in Naarm/Melbourne with 25 years experience creating and designing picture books. Inspired by the quiet and sometimes joyful details of life, Anna uses ink, pencil and printmaking techniques. Her award winning books include Florette, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, Mr Huff, winner of the CBCA book of the year Early Childhood and her most recent illustrated book, A Life Song, written by Jane Godwin was awarded 2024 picture book of the year by the Australian Book Industry Awards.

 

Daniel New fell into the world of publishing and book design after initially studying painting. His previous roles include Art Director for Lonely Planet Publications and Art Director for Lantern, an imprint of Penguin Books. He now runs his own studio in Surry Hills, Sydney. He has received multiple book design awards, including a James Beard Foundation Award for design excellence.

 

Nicola Hardcastle is a designer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, focusing her research on professional practice and industry engagement. As a practising designer, she has contributed to numerous cultural and public projects in Australia and the UK, including signage systems, publications, and exhibitions for clients such as the National Gallery of Australia, City of Sydney, National Maritime Museum of Australia, and NSW State Archives and Records. Nicola teaches and lectures in Design Practice, Socially Responsive Design, and Typography, and leads global studios. She also mentors young designers through the D&AD New Blood Awards and the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) Student Assessment Program, where she serves as the Asia-Pacific Coordinator and a member of the Education Board.

 

Amy Daoud is an award-winning book designer based in Sydney. Her publishing career began in 2011 when she joined Walker Books Australia where she spent six and a half years specialising in children’s publishing. After a period in-house at HarperCollins Publishers Australia, Amy made the leap to freelance and today works across a spectrum of projects spanning fiction, non-fiction, illustrated, young adult and children’s titles. From 2017 to 2019, Amy served as a committee member of the Australian Book Designers Association.

 

Catherine Milne has worked in publishing for many years, including with Penguin Books, Allen & Unwin, and since 2012, with HarperCollins, where she has been Head of Fiction since 2017.  Her list encompasses everything from literary and crossover fiction to non-fiction, and is eclectic, award-winning and bestselling.

 

Susan Le is a freelance designer & illustrator, specialising in publication design and occasionally teaches at UTS. She was previously art director at Evi-O.Studio and has been designing and illustrating books since 2018. In 2024, she was the recipient of ABDA’s Deb Brash Emerging Designer award. Susan believes nothing can replace the joy of holding a beautifully crafted book in one’s hand.