City of Darwin Libraries' beloved Kids Reading Oz Choice (KROC) Awards are back for 2025, giving children across the Northern Territory the exciting opportunity to vote for their favourite Australian books and authors.
Now in its 35th year, the KROC Awards are judged entirely by children and young people, allowing them to celebrate the Australian stories that have most inspired, amused, enlightened or thrilled them.
Running from the July school holidays until the end of the September/ October break, the KROC Awards encourage reading across all age groups and genres, with children voting across four categories:
Picture Books
Junior Fiction
Youth Fiction
Junior Non-Fiction
City of Darwin CEO, Simone Saunders, said the KROC Awards play an important role in fostering a lifelong love of reading and supporting Australian authors.
"KROC puts the power of storytelling into the hands of young readers and highlights the importance of Australian children's literature," Ms Saunders said.
"It's a brilliant way to connect children with books, libraries, authors and the broader literary community while giving them a voice in recognising the stories they love."
Each year, the awards culminate in the KROC Party, a fun and engaging event that celebrates the winners as voted by kids themselves. This year's party will be held at Casuarina Library on Friday 3 October at 2:30 pm, with voting closing on Thursday 2 October.
The KROC Awards aim to:
Encourage and promote young people's reading;
Give children the opportunity to vote for their favourite books;
Promote awareness of Australian children's fiction and non-fiction;
Develop young people into discerning readers;
Strengthen relationships between libraries, authors, readers, and publishers.
