MURIEL BARWELL AWARD

The Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children's Literature is a biennial award of ​The Children's Book Council of Australia WA Branch.

Congratulations Gail Spiers!


The 2026 recipient of the Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature is Gail Spiers.

For more than 30 years, Gail has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to children’s literature as a teacher, passionate reader and longstanding volunteer with the Children’s Book Council of Australia WA Branch. Her dedication has extended far beyond her professional responsibilities, enriching the work of the Branch and fostering a deep appreciation of Australian children’s literature among educators, young readers, creators and the wider community.

Throughout her teaching career, Gail has championed quality Australian children’s literature and embedded it meaningfully within classroom practice. She developed activities inspired by the annual Children’s Book Week® themes and shortlisted titles for the Children’s Book Week® Handbook, creating arts, crafts and drama-based experiences that brought books to life for young readers and inspired a lifelong love of reading in students.

Gail has made an extraordinary contribution to the work of the Children’s Book Council of Australia WA Branch. She organised the CBCA WA Readers Cup program between 2005 and 2011, and organised reviewers for the annual CBCA Book of the Year Awards shortlist event from 2013 to 2024. As a remarkable achievement, Gail also served as a national judge for the Nan Chauncy Award in 2012 and 2021. This national award honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Australian children’s literature. Since 2012, Gail has initiated, coordinated and hosted the monthly Australian Young Adult Book Discussion Group, an open-invitation book club for CBCA members that champions Australian Young Adult writers and celebrates their work. Further, she has served as convenor and judge of the biennial Muriel Barwell Award since 2016 and coordinated the Biennial Penny Hutchens Memorial Fund from 2016 to 2021, through which organisations working with children received donations of quality children’s books. Since 2020, she has also managed the CBCA WA Branch Book of the Year Awards collection, overseeing the sourcing, cataloguing and preservation of the winning titles. Proof that Gail doesn’t just champion great books; she makes sure we know exactly where to find them.

Gail’s generosity extends to Australian authors and illustrators at every stage of their careers. In 2025, she created two significant opportunities for emerging and established creators of children’s and young adult literature. Four Western Australian creators were selected to participate in a fully funded creative retreat at Gail’s home, Roderick House. Free from the distractions and demands of everyday life, participants were given dedicated time and space to develop their creative work. The overwhelming success of this initiative led to two further retreats, benefiting an additional ten Western Australian authors and illustrators—and even today, this initiative continues to flourish. Author and illustrator Renée Treml describes Gail as “a champion of Australian children’s literature,” acknowledging her incredible generosity and unwavering support for creators.

In 2025, by way of an endowment from Gail, The Spiers Prize, consisting of a contract with UWA Publishing and $5000 for the winning author, was established. This is an annual, national children’s fiction manuscript prize aimed at encouraging unpublished writers “to polish their manuscripts and take the leap into submitting their work.” Gail’s generosity was exemplified when two manuscripts—a middle-grade novel and a young adult work of fiction—were awarded the inaugural prize. Gail is one of four judges for this prize.

To quote Gail from her interview in The Magpie's Magazine in April last year:

“I believe in the value of children’s fiction—and in the voices of Australian writers who are waiting for their stories to be heard. That’s why I’m so proud that The University of Western Australia Publishing (UWA Publishing) has established The Spiers Prize, an annual national award that champions Australian writers of middle grade and Young Adult fiction (ages 8 and above). This prize is my way of continuing the work I loved so much—supporting the books and storytellers who help children see themselves and understand the world around them.”

Gail does not simply champion children’s literature; she champions the people behind it. She creates spaces in which writers can write, readers can discover, educators can inspire and stories can find their way into the world. Through more than three decades of extraordinary service, Gail has shaped Western Australia’s children’s literature community and strengthened the national landscape beyond it. Countless readers, educators, writers and illustrators have benefited from her knowledge, advocacy and unwavering belief in the power of Australian stories—and we love her for it.
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Gail Spiers is an exceptional contributor to Australian children’s literature and a most worthy recipient of the 2026 Muriel Barwell Award.
 
Pictured: Gail Spiers receiving the 2026 Muriel Barwell Award from CBCA WA Branch Vice-President Emily-Jane Keating at the CBCA WA Book of the Year Awards Dinner (21st August, 2026). 
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Gail Spiers with the Muriel Barwell Award at Roderick House | August 2026

Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to
​Children's Literature Background
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Muriel Barwell’s name is synonymous with children’s literature in Western Australia.  In July, 1974 she opened Haddons, a specialist children’s bookshop in London Court.  This small space, crammed floor to ceiling with the best books for children from around the world was the only one of its kind in Perth.  Muriel’s vast knowledge and welcoming manner made it a haven for parents and children alike.  Muriel spent much of her time liaising with Education Department librarians, guiding and advising their purchases.

Muriel was instrumental in revitalising a somewhat flagging CBCA Branch in the 1970s with a new committee and fun filled meetings at Haddons in the early years. Muriel held the position of Branch Treasurer providing sound and stable financial advice for some 17 years.
She was a founding member on the Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre Board and a strong supporter of WAYRBA, receiving a Certificate of Excellence in 1991.
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While Muriel's influence has been largely state based, her contribution has been recognised more widely winning the Nan Chauncy Award in 2006 and being awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2007.
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The Award

A recipient will have demonstrated significant service to children’s literature beyond his or her professional commitments over a period of time in Western Australia.

Service can be demonstrated in a variety of ways such as:
  • Committed volunteer work with a children’s literature-related association (such as the WA Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) or the like).
  • Working with children, parents or community groups.
  • Study in the field of children’s literature.
  • Judging literary / literature awards.
  • Assisting and promoting writers, illustrators and publishers of children's books.
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Eligibility

  • Nominees need not be a member of the CBCA.
  • Nominees cannot receive the Award more than once.
  • Nominees who have been unsuccessful can be renominated without restriction in subsequent years.
  • Nominees must be living at the time nominations close.
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Nominations

  • Nominations must be submitted with the official nomination form.
  • Nominations shall be no more than 2 A4 pages.
  • Judges can consider submissions only on the written evidence provided.
  • Brief references to published sources are admissible.
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Administration

  • The Award will be administered by a convenor appointed by the WA Branch.
  • A call for nominations shall be published in the April Branch newsletter of the year of the Award.
  • The closing date for the Award will be 30 June. Late entries will not be considered.
  • There shall be 3 judges; the Award Convenor and two Branch committee members selected after nominations have been received.
  • Copies of the nominations shall be sent by the Award Convenor to the judges 3 weeks prior to the finalisation of judging.
  • The Branch President will be responsible for informing the recipient of the Award which will be presented at the Book Week dinner.
  • The recipient will be presented with a certificate, a citation and a gift crafted in WA.
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Confidentiality

  • The list of nominees and the judges’ deliberations shall be confidential.
  • The nomination of the recipient shall be retained in the Branch Archives.
  • All other nominations and notes shall be destroyed.
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Submissions

Nominations must be sent to the Award Convenor Gail Spiers by 30 June.
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The 'Muriels' at the 2024 CBCA Book Week Dinner | Back Row: Frane Lessac, Sally Murphy, Nola Allen, Jan Nicholls, Elaine Forrestal. Front: Muriel Barwell
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The ‘Muriels’ in 2018 | Back row: Jenni Woodroffe, Peter Williams, Muriel Barwell, Celia Cole. Front row: Frané Lessac, Mary Gimondo, Jan Nicholls. Absent: Elaine Forrestal.

Past Award Winners

2026 Gail Spiers
​2024 Sally Murphy
​2022 Nola Allen
​2020 Jennifer Jackson
​​2018 Jan Nicholls
2016 Celia Cole
2014 Jenni Woodroffe
2012 Elaine Forrestal
2010 Frané Lessac
2008 Mary Gimondo
2006 Peter Williams​