CONGRATULATIONS TO AGENCY AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATOR ON THEIR AWARDS!
Dr Bronwyn Bancroft was awarded the Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence at Creative Australia's 2026 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards in Gadigal Country (Sydney) on Wednesday 27 May 2026.
Bronwyn Bancroft is a Djanbun clan member of the Bundjalung Nation. She illustrated her first book in 1992 and has worked on nearly 40 children’s books. She was the Australian finalist for the Ezra Jack Keats Award for Excellence in Children’s Book Illustration (1994), received the Dromkeen Medal (2010), and the Australian finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Award (Illustrator 2016). Bronwyn has a Diploma of Visual Arts and two Masters degrees from the University of Sydney (Studio Practice and Visual Art).
Dr Paul Valent has been awarded an OAM in the recent King's Birthday HONOURS for service to the Jewish community. However, he has, over decades, also given distinguished service in the area of Traumatic Stress Studies, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.
He was co-founder (1990) of the Melbourne Child Survivors of the Holocaust Group and Founding President. He has been a member since 1990. He was a former Member, Testimonies Advisory Panel of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. He was Co-founder, in the 1980s of the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He has been a former President, a member since the 1980s and a life Member since 2007.
He was a Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist from 1971 to 1996, a Distinguished Fellow, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, since 1970. He was Former Senior Lecturer, Psychiatry, Monash University, Former Liaison Psychiatrist, Monash Medical Centre; and a Member of the Mental Health Response Team, Ash Wednesday Bushfires, Victoria, 1983.
At Prince Henry’s Hospital, Melbourne, he was a Former Liaison Psychiatrist and co-establisher, Liaison Psychiatry Team, 1980s.
Publications
Author, ‘Mental Health in the Times of the Pandemic’, 2021
Author, ‘Heart of Violence: Why People Harm Each Other’, 2020
Author, ‘Trauma and Fulfillment Therapy: A Wholist Framework’, 2013
Author, ‘In Two Minds: Tales of a Psychotherapist’, 2013
Author, ‘From Survival to Fulfillment: A Framework for the Life-Trauma Dialectic’, 1998
Author, ‘Child Survivors of the Holocaust’, 1994
Valent said, 'I am glad that the issue of the Holocaust and its effects, especially on children, was recognised. I hope the honour will help to give credence and emphasis to my recent books and writings.'
CONGRATULATIONS TO THREE OF OUR AUTHORS SHORTLISTED IN THE 2026 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE 8-10 YEARS AGE GROUP.
Helen Edwards for Legend of the Lighthouse Moon,
Jayne McIntyre for The Feathers of Farwood and the Gripps Curse,
Brenton Cullen for The Prime Minister Problem;
and congratulations to Rowena Beresford, publisher at Riveted Press who published all three books.
BOOKS BY GOLVAN ARTS CLIENTS PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2026:
Maura Pierlot's Our Family Zoo , published 1 June by Scholastic Australia. It follows Alphabetter, published by Affirm Press in 2023. Maura spoke about her inspiration in writing this wonderful picture storybook about family life bursting with animals in an interview with Romi Sharp in Just Write For Kids: 'I’ve always been an animal-lover...We’ve had dogs for nearly 25 years, and, growing up, I had pets from middle school onwards. Our farm (south coast NSW) is like a mini-wildlife sanctuary, replete with amazing bird life, deer, echidnas, wombats, cattle, sheep and more. When animals are such a big part of your daily life, it’s only natural that they’ll hop, trot, swoop and slither into your stories.'
Watch out for media and reviews of Samantha Ross's debut work of fiction with Penguin Random House, published 2 June 2026. Possible Springs will make a big splash. Jeff Lindsay, bestselling author of DEXTER says: ‘Ross’s debut blends small-town mystery, romance and magical realism into an intoxicating, spell-binding mix. Jimny is an unforgettable character. I loved it.’ Listen to a discussion about Possible Springs on the QBD Book Club.