FINALIST for best books!

Excited (stoked really!) that my book that’s been acclaimed as the children’s book every adult must read, My dad built me the best and wackiest cubby ever, was announced as a finalist for best children’s book. AS WELL, my book The faraway land of the house and two cows was also selected as a finalist for best nonfiction book!

From the judges of the ABLE Golden Book Awards 2025 about ‘My dad built me the best and wackiest cubby ever’…

Told through the eyes of a child and a very creative cubby-building dad, this heartfelt story captures the joys of imagination while gently exploring the realities of mental ill health. As the weather shifts and the cubby grows ever wackier, so too do the emotions and complexities of the father’s inner world. With thoughtful metaphors and beautiful illustrations, this book helps young readers understand emotional challenges in a compassionate, age-appropriate way, offering support, journaling pages and teacher resources for continued reflection.

From the judges of the ABLE Golden Book Awards 2025 about ‘The faraway land of the house and two cows’…

This extraordinary work uncovers a little-known chapter of Australia’s history, the hidden community that once lived on Melbourne’s sewerage farm for nearly 100 years. Told through the voices of characters like Sorrowing Father, Dear Daughter, Blackened Boy, and Yankee Doodle Dandy, the book paints a vivid picture of life alongside sewage lagoons and filtration paddocks that ran day and night.

Blending historical detail with timeless storytelling, Dr Schott captures the resilience and humanity of those who lived behind one of the country’s most significant civic projects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s an unflinching yet compassionate narrative that brings forgotten stories back into the light.

**Dedicated to my friend and colleague, Patrick West, who believed in the power of this work and worked with me on ‘The faraway land of the house and two cows’.