The New Policeman by Kate Thompson has won the Whitbread Book Award 2005 in the children’s category.
There were a record 109 entries in children’s category this year and the judges described the book as ‘A fabulous mix of Irish music and magic, The New Policeman is an enchanting story of a fiddle-playing fifteen-year-old, a family secret and a lost flute. Kate Thompson's engaging and amusing writing style keeps you turning page after page until its wonderful conclusion.’
The other four successful authors who will now contest for the Whitbread Book of the Year are:
* Ali Smith who, after missing out on the Man Booker and Orange Prizes, finally triumphs with her first full-length novel, The Accidental, in the Novel Award category
* University of East Anglia graduate, Tash Aw for The Harmony Silk Factory,
who wins the First Novel Award
* Hilary Spurling claims the Biography Award with the second part of her masterful biography of Matisse, Matisse the Master, a work which took her 15 years to complete
* Christopher Logue with the fifth and penultimate instalment of his celebrated account of the Iliad, Cold Calls, in the Poetry category
The five Whitbread Book Award winners, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 476 entries, the highest total ever received in one year. The five books are now eligible for the ultimate prize - the 2005 Whitbread Book of the Year.
The winner will be announced at The Brewery in central London on Tuesday 24th January 2006 by a panel of judges chaired by the author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo MBE.
The five Whitbread Book Award winners, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 476 entries, the highest total ever received in one year. The five books are now eligible for the ultimate prize - the 2005 Whitbread Book of the Year.
The winner will be announced at The Brewery in central London on Tuesday 24th January 2006 by a panel of judges chaired by the author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo MBE.
Once again, members of the public can vote via the Whitbread Book Awards website - www.whitbread-bookawards.co.uk - for which of the five books they would select as Whitbread Book of the Year. Everyone who votes will be entered into a free prize draw to win a set of the five category winners. A chart showing the most hotly-tipped book according to the public vote will also be available on the website.
Since the introduction of the Whitbread Book of the Year award in 1985, it has been won seven times by a novel, three times by a first novel, four times by a biography, five times by a collection of poetry and just once by a children's book.
Final judging panel announced for the 2005 Whitbread Book Awards Mother and daughter, actresses Joanna David and Emilia Fox, will join the final judging panel which selects the overall winner of the 2005 Whitbread Book of the Year.
The panel, chaired by the author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo MBE, will comprise ITN journalist and newscaster Alastair Stewart; actress Joanna David and her daughter actress Emilia Fox; and five writers representing the five category judging panels - Philippa Gregory (Novel), Linda Newbery (Children's Book Award), Ciaran Carson (Poetry), Margaret Drabble (Biography) and Arabella Weir (First Novel). The final judges will meet on Tuesday, 24th January 2006 to select the winner of the 2005 Whitbread Book of the Year which will be announced at a ceremony later that evening.
