Controversial Australian Prize Winner

A FORMER Children's Book Council president [Kate Colley] has criticised a decision to award one of Australia's most prestigious prizes or children's literature to a book containing swearing and violent images.
Requiem for a Beast today won the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year prize.

Red House Children's Book Award Winners 2008

ACHUKA was away for a couple of days so apologises for the late notice of this result, which was announced yesterday evening (30th June), at the Hay Festival.

The outright winner was

Skulduggery Pleasant byDerek Landy
Category:
Older Readers

Other Category Winners were

Penguin by Polly Dunbar
Category:
Younger Children


Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell
Category:
Younger Readers

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The Children's Book Award was founded in 1980 by author & librarian Pat Thompson and is run by a team of dedicated volunteers from the Federation of Children's Book Groups (FCBG), a registered charity who aims to encourage children to read for pleasure.
The FCBG was set up as a charity by Anne Wood, the originator of the Tellytubbies. They act as an umbrella organisation for local Children's Book Groups all over the UK. The groups organise a variety of activities including author events and other activities that promote the enjoyment of children's books. The Federation also produces numerous specialist book lists, organises National Share-a-Story Month each May and holds an annual conference each spring.
Red House became the Award's sponsor in 2001.
www.redhouse.co.uk
www.fcbg.org.uk

Too hung up about authorship?

Joanne Harris, who wrote Chocolat and is now writing for children, said that it would be "depressing beyond anything" if Price wins on April 9. "If this is an award for people who write books then it should be open only to people who write books, not to somebody who lends their name to a book, or who would have written a book if they had time but didn't."

... ...
However, the current Children's Laureate has leapt to Price's defence. Michael Rosen said that Roald Dahl was a rarity among children's writers in producing books that were purely his own work. "We get too hung up about authorship. None of us writes a book entirely on our own. We get help from editors, or ideas might come from conversations with our families, or children. The issue is whether the book's good, not who has written it. If Jordan or any of her helpers have written a very good book then absolutely good luck to them."

What do you think?

Full shortlist:
That's Not My Penguin Fiona Watt
Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman Francesca Simon
Katie Price's Perfect Ponies Katie Price
Born to Run Michael Morpurgo
Kiss Jacqueline Wilson