Christine Oughtred

Throughout my career as a teacher, librarian and manager my abiding passion has been Children’s Literature. I am enrolled in higher degree by research to fully indulge that passion!

I am currently President of the Victorian Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, a not for profit organisation with the mission to ‘engage the community with literature for young Australians’. While we may be best known for our CBCA Book of the Year Awards for children’s books we also hold author and illustrator events, present professional development for teachers and librarians, and support communities to interact with stories. It’s a lot of fun!

I have been a judge and coordinator of the Book of the Year Awards and feel quite familiar with the excellent standard of Australian children’s books. However my observation is that the standard is not yet consistent for interactive digital stories for children wherever they are published. I’m looking forward to spending time asking and perhaps answering some questions about the criteria for creating wonderful literature in this space.

I kick started my deep dive into the field with a trip to the Children’s Bok Fair in Bologna, Italy in April to attend a masterclass in digital story telling products and listen to presentations about the 2017 Bologna Ragazzi Digital Award. A very exciting way to be fully immersed in the topic and meet some wonderful producers of story apps for children.