Kate Talbot

1 September, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Kate Talbot is an Australian-born, New Zealand-based children’s book writer and illustrator. Working digitally, she is passionate about instilling a love for stories and storytelling in little people and hopes to nurture life-long readers and artists through her quirky characters and Continue reading →

Title

Windy Washing Day

1 September, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Written by Yvonne Low and
illustrated by Kate Talbot

How an ordinary day becomes extraordinary…

It’s a dry, sunny day and perfect for hanging out the laundry. But what happens when an unexpected wind pulls the washing off the line and carries it next door — to the Zoo! Will the animals give up their new-found clothes and can all the washing be returned safely? Continue reading Windy Washing Day →

Teacher Notes

Teacher Notes – Windy Washing Day

1 September, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Teachers’ Notes for Windy Washing Day (pdf, 294 kb)

Title

The Giant

1 August, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Written by Sophie Masson and
illustrated by Lorena Carrington

On the day the giant wakes from a long sleep, he’s filled with joy at the thought of seeing his friends in the town again. But he’s slept so long that nobody remembers him, everyone hides from him, and his joy turns to a sadness that might engulf the whole town —

Until he hears the voices, calling to him…

A beautiful, touching story of memory, inclusion and friendship, by the award-winning creative duo of writer Sophie Masson and illustrator Lorena Carrington, whose previous Continue reading The Giant →

Author

Nicky Johnston

1 July, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Nicky Johnston is an educator, speaker, and author/illustrator of children’s books. She enjoys every aspect of creating books for kids, especially illustration. Nicky’s illustration style is often described as whimsical, emotive, soft, and expressive. Her love of teaching sees her busy with school visits and Continue reading →

Title

Where Shall We Travel Today?

1 July, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Written by Kristin Martin and
illustrated by Nicky Johnston

A group of neighbourhood friends search for adventure. They climb mountains, sail through waterfalls and snorkel the reef. At night, they marvel at the sky above and wonder where to go next.

Where Shall We Travel Today? is a delightful story about the power of the imagination, of stories and of Continue reading Where Shall We Travel Today? →

Title

When Dark Waters Burn

15 June, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

by Zena Shapter

Stay out of sight. Stay hidden under the lake. Giant water-ants scout the surface and deadly trees slop their hungry roots along the shoreline. Unrest surges in the swamps, getting closer and closer… Sala will only be safe for as long as Continue reading When Dark Waters Burn →

Uncategorized

Pause in Submissions

7 May, 2025 Editor-in-Chief 2 Comments

PLEASE NOTE: Due to an overwhelming number of submissions, we are taking a break. Submissions are now closed from the 7th of May 2025 until the 1st of December 2025. Any submissions sent before the 1st of December 2025 will not be considered and will not be replied to. If you made a submission before the 7th of May, please rest assured that we will review your work and endeavour to respond to you as soon as we can. When we reopen, please follow the guidelines.

overwhelmed editor

Author

Gisela Ervin-Ward

9 January, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

Gisela Ervin-Ward writes stuff for kids to read and teaches them how to read it. She grew up on a farm in Western Victoria and moved to South-East Asia to be an aid worker for many years before returning to Australia with her family to live in the Macedon Ranges. She’s now a writer of children’s tales and specialist literacy teacher, teaching neurodivergent children how to read. Continue reading →

Title

True South

9 January, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

by Gisela Ervin-Ward

PB 192 | 198 x 129
ISBN: 9781922858597 | $19.99
Middle Grade | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | 25 May 2025
Distributed by NewSouth Books

When twelve-year-old Nell crashes her sailboat into a submerged house in the lake, she stumbles into a treasure hunt that plunges her into a generations-old family feud.

Things begin to take a sinister turn as the adults get involved, and Nell has no choice but to team up with her neighbour and family rival, Charlie. As friendships begin to morph and stretch, can these two unlikely allies end the feud and work out the treasure’s secrets, or will their rivalry lead to one last epic Continue reading True South →

Title

When Dark Waters Burn

9 January, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

by Zena Shapter

Stay out of sight. Stay hidden under the lake. Even as giant water-ants scout the surface, and deadly trees slop their hungry roots along the shoreline. For unrest surges in the swamps, getting closer and closer… Sala will only be safe for as long as their ship’s location remains a secret. But when a horrifying threat ignites close to home, and the lakeside hillfarms are forced to reveal a desperate Continue reading When Dark Waters Burn →

Title

Shift

9 January, 2025 Editor-in-Chief

by Irma Gold

PB | 234 x 153
ISBN: 9781922858566 | $34.99
Adult fiction | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | March 2025
Distributed by NewSouth Books

In the year of the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter — which outlined the principles of democracy and freedom in South Africa — comes a novel set in the township where it was signed. Shift asks us to examine both the world around us… and ourselves. Continue reading Shift →

Uncategorized

Picture Book Prize Entry Form

8 November, 2024 Editor-in-Chief

In March 2027, MidnightSun Publishing will once again be awarding the MidnightSun Publishing Picture Book Prize where the winner will have their work published by MidnightSun Publishing. We are so excited to see what is out there and to read all your stories.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
Entrants must be over the age of 18 to submit their manuscript.
The work must be original, not created or assisted by AI.
The entry fee of $60.00 (AUD) must be paid at the time of submission.
Entrants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents at the time of submission.
The submission must not have been previously published by another publishing company.

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE 25 DECEMBER 2026. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Times New Roman Font
Font Size 12
Double Line Spacing
Submissions must be in English
Upload as a Word Document

PAYMENT OF ENTRY FEE
At the end of this form, entrants will be asked to pay the entry fee of $60.00 (AUD).
Each entry must be submitted separately. One entry is $60.00 (AUD).

CONTACT INFORMATION
If entrants have any queries or concerns please contact the team at MidnightSun Publishing.
Email: picturebookprize2027@midnightsunpublishing.com

Email (required)

First and Last Name (required)

Date of Birth (required, must be over 18 years to enter)

Phone Number (required)

Picture Book Information

The following questions are about your picture book submission.
Please upload a copy of your manuscript as a Word document.

Picture Book Title (required)

Please upload your picture book manuscript as a Word document (.doc or .docx, up to 10 MB)

Have you previously been published by a different publisher?
(If yes, which publisher and what titles?) (required)

Do you confirm that you have read and agree to the conditions of entry? (required)
Yes, I have read and agree to the conditions of entry

Do you confirm that this work is entirely your own and has not been previously published anywhere prior to this submission? (required)
Yes, I confirm that this work is my own and it has not been previously published

Payment of Entry Fee

To complete your submission, please submit the form to pay the entry fee of $60.00 (AUD) via Paypal.

If you are not redirected to PayPal after submitting, please enable JavaScript and resubmit, or contact us.

A confirmation email may take a day or so to arrive. Confirmations are sent manually after we have reconciled submissions with payments. Please be patient. If however you have not received a confirmation email within 3 days, please query us at picturebookprize2027@midnightsunpublishing.com.

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Uncategorized

Picture Book Prize Conditions of Entry

8 November, 2024 Editor-in-Chief

Entry into this competition is deemed acceptance of these Conditions of Entry.
Entrants must be Australian citizens or Australian Residents.
Entrants must be over the age of 18 to submit their manuscript.
Entries must be received by MidnightSun Publishing by the 25th of December 2026 (by 23:59pm ACDT).
Entrants can submit multiple works, but a new submission form must be filled out for each entry and an entry fee of $60 (AUD) paid for each submission.
Entries that have incorrect or false contact details will not be accepted.
Each entrant warrants that their submission is entirely an original work and not created by AI or created with the assistance of AI.
For a submission to be accepted, the submission form must be completed, the picture book uploaded to the form and the entry fee of $60 (AUD) paid.
The submission must not have been previously published by another publishing company or self-published.
Entrants acknowledge that if their submission wins, MidnightSun Publishing is granted the first option of publishing the work and reserves the right to negotiate a standard publishing contract with the winning entrant.