Albert Henry Ullin (29 April 1930 – 12 September 2018) was a

German Australian German Australians () are Australians with German ancestry. German Australians constitute one of the largest ancestry groups in Australia, and German is the fifth most identified European ancestry in Australia behind English, Irish, Scottish a ...

bookseller and the founder of Australia's first children's bookstore, The Little Bookroom. He nurtured emerging children's writers and illustrators.

Early years

Ullin was born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, and arrived in Melbourne in 1939 as a nine-year-old, escaping pre-war Germany via Italy with his family.

Career

Ullin developed his interest in children's picture-books while working for booksellers Robertson & Mullens in Melbourne. Ullin promoted Australian children's books at the Bologna Book Fair. Ullin served as judge on both the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the

Children's Book Council of Australia A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

Crichton Award.

The Little Bookroom

Ullin founded Australia’s first children’s bookstore, The Little Bookroom, opening on 13 October 1960. Ullin sold the business to staff in 2004. The bookstore was first established in the Metropol Arcade before moving to an Elizabeth St location, opposite the GPO. The store later relocated to Carlton with a small branch at Degraves Street. The bookstore was named after Eleanor Farjeon's book of short stories "The Little Bookroom" and Ullin wrote to Farjeon to request the use of the name and to illustrator

Edward Ardizzone Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, (16 October 1900 – 8 November 1979), who sometimes signed his work "DIZ", was a British painter, printmaker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children. For ''Tim All Al ...

requesting an illustration to be the logo for the bookstore.

Writing fellowships

Ullin was the National Mentorship Coordinator for the May Gibbs Literature Trust which supports Australian creators of books for children through fellowships and residencies for authors and illustrators.

Children's Book Council of Australia

Ullin held various positions in the Children's Book Council of Australia Victoria Branch between 1979 and 1988. Ullin served as judge on both the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the CBCA Crichton Award for New Illustrators. In 2009, he was awarded the Leila St John Award by CBCA Victoria and an honorary lifetime membership, in recognition of his services to children’s literature in Victoria.

Awards

* 1986 Dromkeen Medal for outstanding achievement in the advancement of Australian children's and young adult literature * 1997 Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for services to children's literature in Australia and beyond * 2009 lifetime achievement award by the

Australian Booksellers Association The Australian Booksellers Association (also known as BookPeople) promotes the interests of booksellers in Australia. The association has its origins in state associations formed early in the 20th century, which later amalgamated into a federal ass ...

* 2009 Leila St John Award by the Children's Book Council of Australia, Victorian branch * Honorary Life Member of the Children’s Book Council of Australia

Legacy

Ullin donated his personal collection of Australian children’s book illustrations to the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

. Ullin created the ''Ullin Prize for Children's Illustration'' at the Wheeler Centre for Books Writing and Ideas. The inaugural prize was awarded to Andrew McLean in 2020 in recognition of his 40 year career in book illustration. Jane Tanner and Judith Rossell won in 2022 and 2024 respectively.