Shortlisted for Branford Boase Award 2019
A YA novel told from the perspective of someone with Down’s syndrome. A love story inspired by the author’s experiences alongside her severely autistic brother.
Search Results for: rosie loves ack
Carnegie & Greenaway Nominations
Here are the nominations for the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals, as announced by CILIP today. These lists are always so extensive I always feel sympathy for those authors and illustrators who wake up to find their books not included.
Each nominated book is read by every member of the judging panel – which this year includes 14 children’s and youth librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group.
From these nominations, the judging panel will decide the long and shortlists and finally, the 2020 Medal winners.
All nominations published have received at least one nomination from a CILIP member or external body and have been checked and verified for their eligibility.
20 February 2020 Longlist announcement
19 March 2020 Shortlist announcement and Shadowing begins
1 – 10 June 2020 Shadowers’ Choice Awards voting open
17 June 2020 2020 Medal winners’ and Shadowers’ Choice announcement
Carnegie nominations:
Ahmed, Samira. Internment
Publisher: ATOM. ISBN: 9780349003344
Applebaum, Kirsty. The Middler
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9781788003452
Atta, Dean (author) Khullar, Anshika (illustrator). The Black Flamingo
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444948585
Barr, Emily. The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods
Publisher: Penguin. ISBN: 9780241345221
Bates, Laura. The Burning
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781471170201
Bilan, Jasbinder. Asha & the Spirit Bird
Publisher: Chicken House. ISBN: 9781911490197
Blackman, Malorie. Crossfire
Publisher: Penguin. ISBN: 9780241388433
Boyce, Frank Cottrell (author) Lenton, Steven (illustrator). Runaway Robot
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509851775
Brahmachari, Sita. Where The River Runs Gold
Publisher: Orion Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781510105416
Bruton, Catherine. No Ballet Shoes in Syria
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9781788004503
Bunzl, Peter. Skycircus
Publisher: Usborne Books. ISBN: 9781474940658
Burton, Jessie (author) Barrett, Angela (illustrator). The Restless Girls
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408886915
Bushby, Aisha. A Pocketful of Stars
Publisher: Egmont. ISBN: 9781405293198
Butterworth, Jess. Swimming Against the Storm
Publisher: Orion Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781510105485
Carroll, Sarah. The Words That Fly Between Us
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781471160646
Carthew, Natasha. Only The Ocean
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408868607
Coelho, Joseph (author) Judd, Kelly Louise (illustrator). A Year of Nature Poems
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions. ISBN: 9781786035820
Collins, Orlagh. All the Invisible Things
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408888339
Crossan, Sarah. Toffee
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408868126
Darbon, Mel. Rosie Loves Jack
Publisher: Usborne Books. ISBN: 9781474937832
Dawson, Juno. Meat Market
Publisher: Quercus. ISBN: 9781786540386
de Waal, Kit. Becoming Dinah
Publisher: Orion Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781510105706
DiCamillo, Kate. Louisiana’s Way Home
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406384208
Dogar, Sharon. Monsters
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783448029
Donnelly, Jennifer. Stepsister
Publisher: Hot Key Books. ISBN: 9781471407970
Drews, C.G.. The Boy Who Steals Houses
Publisher: Orchard. ISBN: 9781408349922
Durant, Alan. Clownfish
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406374629
Eagle, Judith (author) Geyer, Kim (illustrator).The Secret Starling
Publisher: Faber & Faber. ISBN: 9780571346301
Edge, Christopher. The Longest Night of Charlie Noon
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9781788004947
Fisher, Catherine. The Clockwork Crow
Publisher: Firefly Press. ISBN: 9781910080849
Foxlee, Karen. Lenny’s Book of Everything
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781782692386
Gosling, Sharon. The Golden Butterfly
Publisher: Stripes. ISBN: 9781788950329
Green, Julia. The House of Light
Publisher: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780192771568
Green, Simon James. Alex in Wonderland
Publisher: Scholastic. ISBN: 9781407194240
Harrison, Michelle. A Pinch of Magic
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781471124297
Harrold, A.F. (author) Gravett, Emily (illustrator).The Afterwards
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408894316
Jackson, Holly. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder
Publisher: Electric Monkey. ISBN: 9781405293181
Jackson, Sharna. High Rise Mystery
Publisher: Knights Of Media. ISBN: 9781999642518
Jacobs, Jaco (author) Geldenhuys, Kobus (translator). A Good Night For Shooting Zombies
Publisher: Oneworld. ISBN: 9781786074508
James, Anna. Pages & Co (1): Tilly and the Bookwanderers
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN: 9780008229863
James, Lauren. The Starlight Watchmaker
Publisher: Barrington Stoke. ISBN: 9781781128954
Jennings, Paul (author) Kelly, Geoff (illustrator). A Different Land
Publisher: Old Barn Books. ISBN: 9781910646496
Johnson, Catherine (author) Hickey, Katie (illustrator). Race to the Frozen North
Publisher: Barrington Stoke. ISBN: 9781781128404
Juckes, Sarah Ann. Outside
Publisher: Penguin. ISBN: 9780241330753
Kalhan, Savita. That Asian Kid
Publisher: Troika Books. ISBN: 9781909991972
Khan, Muhammad (author) Birdi, Amrit (illustrator). Kick the Moon
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509874071
Khan, Rehan. A Tudor Turk
Publisher: HopeRoad. ISBN: 9781908446978
Lake, Nick. Nowhere on Earth
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444940459
Lawrence, Patrice. Rose, Interrupted
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444940657
Leonardo, Cory. Call Me Alastair
Publisher: Scholastic. ISBN: 9781407186719
Lewis, Gill. The Closest Thing to Flying
Publisher: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780192749482
Littleson, Lindsay. Guardians of the Wild Unicorns
Publisher: Floris Books. ISBN: 9781782505556
MacDibble, Bren. The Dog Runner
Publisher: Old Barn Books. ISBN: 9781910646489
McCombie, Karen. Little Bird Flies
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9780857639103
McGowan, Anthony. Lark
Publisher: Barrington Stoke. ISBN: 9781781128435
McKay, Hilary. The Skylarks’ War
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509894949
Millwood Hargrave, Kiran. The Way Past Winter
Publisher: Chicken House. ISBN: 9781911077930
Ness, Patrick (author) Cai, Rovina (illustrator). And the Ocean Was Our Sky
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406383560
Newbery, Linda. The Key to Flambards
Publisher: David Fickling Books. ISBN: 9781788450041
Nielsen, Susin. No Fixed Address
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783447213
Oppel, Kenneth. Inkling
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406380583
Owen, David. All the Lonely People
Publisher: ATOM. ISBN: 9780349003207
Palmer, Tom. Armistice Runner
Publisher: Barrington Stoke. ISBN: 9781781128251
Patrick, S.A.. A Darkness of Dragons
Publisher: Usborne Books. ISBN: 9781474945677
Peters, Helen. Anna at War
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9781788004718
Plummer, Rachel (author) Boppert, Helene (illustrator). Wain
Publisher: The Emma Press. ISBN: 9781910139479
Pollock, Tom. Heartstream
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406378184
Rahman, Yasmin. All the Things We Never Said
Publisher: Hot Key Books. ISBN: 9781471408298
Rai, Bali. Now or Never: A Dunkirk Story
Publisher: Scholastic. ISBN: 9781407191362
Rees, Celia. Glass Town Wars
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781782692225
Reid, Louisa. Gloves Off
Publisher: Guppy Books. ISBN: 9781913101008
Ribay, Randy. Patron Saints of Nothing
Publisher: Stripes. ISBN: 9781788951548
Rundell, Katherine. The Good Thieves
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408854891
Rundell, Katherine (author) Williams, Kristjana S. (illustrator). Into the Jungle
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509822317
Russo, Meredith. Birthday
Publisher: Usborne Books. ISBN: 9781474967419
Schaap, Annet (author) Watkinson, Laura (translator). Lampie and the Children of the Sea
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781782692188
Schmidt, Gary D.. Pay Attention, Carter Jones
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783448050
Scott, Libby & Westcott, Rebecca. Can You See Me?
Publisher: Scholastic. ISBN: 9781407195674
Sedgwick, Marcus (author) Sedgwick, Julian (author) Deacon, Alexis (illustrator). Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406357929
Shukla, Nikesh. The Boxer
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444940695
Strange, Lucy. Our Castle by the Sea
Publisher: Chicken House. ISBN: 9781911077831
Sutcliffe, William. The Gifted, the Talented and Me
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408890219
Talley, Robin. Pulp
Publisher: HQ Young Adult. ISBN: 9781848457126
Taylor, Thomas. Malamander
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406386288
Thomas, Angie. On The Come Up
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406372168
Vick, Chris. Girl. Boy. Sea.
Publisher: Head of Zeus. ISBN: 9781789541373
Wheatle, Alex. Kerb Stain Boys
Publisher: Barrington Stoke. ISBN: 9781781128091
Williams, Marcia. Cloud Boy
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406381214
Williamson, Lisa. Paper Avalanche
Publisher: David Fickling Books. ISBN: 9781910989968
Winter, Tamsin. Jemima Small Versus the Universe
Publisher: Usborne Books. ISBN: 9781474927284
Wormell, Chris. The Magic Place
Publisher: David Fickling Books. ISBN: 9781788450157
Greenaway nominations:
Anderson, Laura Ellen. I Don’t Want to be Small
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408894071
Antony, Steve. Amazing
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444944709
Arsenault, Isabelle (Illustrator) de Fombelle, Timothee (Author) Gordon, Sam (Translator).
Captain Rosalie
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406377101
Baker Smith, Grahame (Illustrator) Fraillon, Zana (Author). Wisp: A Story of Hope
Publisher: Orchard Books. ISBN: 9781408350102
Barrett, Angela (Illustrator) Burton, Jessie (Author). The Restless Girls
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408886915
Beardshaw, Rosalind (Illustrator) McQuinn, Anna (Author). Lulu’s First Day
Publisher: Alanna Max. ISBN: 9781907825217
Blankenaar, Dale (Illustrator) Durant, Alan (Author). Quill Soup
Publisher: Tiny Owl. ISBN: 9781910328408
Brooksbank, Angela (Illustrator) Atinuke (Author). B is for Baby
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406371086
Browne, Anthony. Little Frida
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406381221
Cai, Rovina (Illustrator) Ness, Patrick (Author). And the Ocean Was Our Sky
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406383560
Collins, Ross (Illustrator) Newson, Karl (Author). I am a Tiger
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509855148
Collins, Ross. This is a Dog
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9781788005159
Davey, Owen. Fanatical About Frogs
Publisher: Flying Eye Books. ISBN: 9781912497058
de Moraes, Thiago. Myth Atlas
Publisher: Alison Green Books. ISBN: 9781407178134
de Moraes, Thiago (Illustrator) de Moraes, Ana (Author). The Night Bear
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783447145
Deacon, Alexis (Illustrator) Sedgwick, Marcus (Author) Sedgwick, Julian (Author).
Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406357929
Egneus, Daniel (Illustrator) Meddour, Wendy (Author). Lubna and Pebble
Publisher: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780192771940
Eland, Eva. When Sadness Comes to Call
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783447183
Field, Jim (Illustrator) Rachel Bright (Author). The Way Home For Wolf
Publisher: Orchard Books. ISBN: 9781408349205
Foreman, Michael (Illustrator) Morpurgo, Michael (Author). Poppy Field
Publisher: Scholastic. ISBN: 9781407181424
Gravett, Emily (Illustrator) Harrold, A.F. (Author). The Afterwards
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408894316
Haworth-Booth, Emily. The King Who Banned the Dark
Publisher: Pavilion Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781843653974
Hodgson, Jesse (Illustrator) Hofmeyr, Dianne (Author). Tiger Walk
Publisher: Otter-Barry Books. ISBN: 9781910959411
Hood, Morag. Brenda is a Sheep
Publisher: Two Hoots. ISBN: 9781509842964
Horacek, Petr (Illustrator) Dunbar, Joyce (Author). Grumpy Duck
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406378245
Impey, Martin (Illustrator) Riley, Christopher (Author). Where Once We Stood
Publisher: Harbour Moon Publishing. ISBN: 9781916062504
Khullar, Anshika (Illustrator) Atta, Dean (Author). The Black Flamingo
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444948585
Kitamura, Satoshi. Hat Tricks
Publisher: Scallywag Press. ISBN: 9781912650026
Kuo, Fifi. I Can Fly
Publisher: Boxer Books. ISBN: 9781910716434
Lai, Remy. Pie in the Sky
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406389616
Leiper, Kate (Illustrator) Breslin, Theresa (Author). An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends
Publisher: Floris Books. ISBN: 9781782505952
Lewis, Emma. Two Kings
Publisher: Tate Publishing. ISBN: 9781849765961
Litchfield, David (Illustrator) Almond, David (Author). War Is Over
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781444946574
McKean, Dave (Illustrator) Almond, David (Author). Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406363197
Melville, Elena Arevalo. Umbrella
Publisher: Scallywag Press. ISBN: 9781912650019
Meserve, Jessica. What Clara Saw
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509866595
Mistry, Poonam (Illustrator) Soundar, Chitra (Author). You’re Snug With Me
Publisher: Lantana Publishing. ISBN: 9781911373476
Mould, Chris (Illustrator) Hughes, Ted (Author). The Iron Man
Publisher: Faber & Faber. ISBN: 9780571348862
Naylor-Ballesteros, Chris. The Suitcase
Publisher: Nosy Crow. ISBN: 9781788004473
Nelson, Kadir (Illustrator) Alexander, Kwame (Author). Undefeated
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783449286
Nomoco (Illustrator) Carter, James (Author). Once Upon A Raindrop
Publisher: Caterpillar Books. ISBN: 9781848577145
Packer, Neil (Illustrator) Frankopan, Peter (Author). The Silk Roads
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408889930
Percival, Tom. The Sea Saw
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781471172441
Perkin, Jayde. Mum’s Jumper
Publisher: Book Island. ISBN: 9781911496137
Pinfold, Levi (Illustrator) Almond, David (Author). The Dam
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406304879
Preston-Gannon, Frann (Illustrator) Waters, Fiona (compiled by) (Author).
I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree – A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year
Publisher: Nosy Crow in partnership with the National Trust. ISBN: 9780857637703
Radeva, Sabina. On the Origin of Species
Publisher: Puffin. ISBN: 9780141388502
Ray, Jane (Illustrator) Davies, Nicola (Author). Hummingbird
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406379273
Rayner, Catherine (Illustrator) Donaldson, Julia (Author). The Go-Away Bird
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781509843589
Renon, Delphine (Illustrator) Hottois, Karen (Author). Emmett and Caleb
Publisher: Book Island. ISBN: 9781911496106
Riddell, Chris (Illustrator) Rowling, J.K. (Author). The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Publisher: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781408898673
Ross, Tony. An Anty-War Story
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783446100
Sanna, Francesca. Me and my Fear
Publisher: Flying Eye Books. ISBN: 9781911171539
Sarda, Julia (Illustrator) Bailey, Linda (Author). Mary and Frankenstein
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783447633
Schwarz, Viviane. How to be on the Moon
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406379921
Sharif, Amin Hassanzadeh (Illustrator) Clayton, Sally Pomme (Author). The Phoenix of Persia
Publisher: Tiny Owl. ISBN: 9781910328439
Shoard, Emma (Illustrator) Peet, Mal (Author). Good Boy
Publisher: Barrington Stoke. ISBN: 9781781128527
Siemensma, Hanneke (Illustrator) Van der Hammen, Gijs (Author) Watkinson, Laura (Translator). Little Wise Wolf
Publisher: Book Island. ISBN: 9781911496120
Smith, Lane (Illustrator) John, Jory (Author). Giraffe Problems
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406383164
Tan, Shaun. Tales from the Inner City
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406383843
Todd-Stanton, Joe. A Mouse Called Julian
Publisher: Flying Eye Books. ISBN: 9781912497065
Trukhan, Ekaterina (Illustrator) Deutsch, Georgiana (Author). Perfectly Polite Penguins
Publisher: Little Tiger Press. ISBN: 9781788811279
Voigt, Marie. Red and the City
Publisher: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780192767745
Waters, Beth. Child of St Kilda
Publisher: Child’s Play. ISBN: 9781786281876
Willmore, Alex (Illustrator) Poskitt, Kjartan (Author). The Runaway Pea
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books. ISBN: 9781471175251
Wilson-Max, Ken. Astro Girl
Publisher: Otter-Barry Books. ISBN: 9781910959213
Woolf, Julia. Duck and Penguin Are Not Friends
Publisher: Andersen Press. ISBN: 9781783447831
Wormell, Chris. The Magic Place
Publisher: David Fickling Books. ISBN: 9781788450157
Wormell, Chris (Illustrator) Raman, Prinja (Author). Planetarium
Publisher: Big Picture Press. ISBN: 9781787411579
Yankey, Lindsey (Illustrator) Javaherbin, Mina (Author). My Grandma and Me
Publisher: Walker Books. ISBN: 9781406384949
Zommer, Yuval. The Big Book of Birds
Publisher: Thames & Hudson. ISBN: 9780500651513
20th Anniversary Branford Boase Award Shortlist
This is the 20th anniversary year of this prestigious first (children’s) novel award, the presentation of which is always a highlight of the calendar. To mark the anniversary Henrietta Branford’s novel Fire, Bed and Bone is being reissued.
The shortlist for the 2019 Branford Boase Award (given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children, and also honouring the editor of the book) was announced on Wednesday 1st May 2019.
It is twenty years since the Branford Boase Award was founded to commemorate author Henrietta Branford and influential Walker Books editor Wendy Boase and it is now recognised as one of the most important awards in children’s books with an impressive record in identifying outstanding authors at the start of their careers. Over its 20 year existence, winners and shortlisted authors include Siobhan Dowd, Meg Rosoff, Mal Peet, Philip Reeve, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Frances Hardinge, Patrick Ness and Marcus Sedgwick.
The complete shortlist list is as follows:
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)
The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)
Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)
The Goose Road by Rowena House, edited by Mara Bergman (Walker Books)
I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan, edited by Lucy Pearse (Macmillan)
Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen, edited by Sarah Stewart and Kendra Levin (Usborne)
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion Children’s Books)
This year’s judges are
- Sanchita Basu De Sarkar of the Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill
- Ellen Krajewski, librarian at Hemel Hempstead School, Hertfordshire
- Louise Johns-Shepherd, chief executive of CLPE
- Mitch Johnson, author of Kick, winner of the 2018 Branford Boase Award.
The panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children’s director of the Hay Festival
The winner of the 2019 Branford Boase Award will be announced on Thursday 27th June at a ceremony in London. The winning author receives a cheque for £1,000 and both author and editor receive a unique, hand-crafted silver-inlaid box.
The Branford Boase Award is sponsored by Walker Books who have pledged new funding to ensure its future.
Branford Boase Prize (20th Anniversary Year) Longlist Announced
The longlist for the 2019 Branford Boase Award is announced today. This important award is celebrating its twentieth year. Set up in memory of author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author and editor of an outstanding debut novel for children and has highlighted many of the twenty-first century’s leading children’s authors at the start of their careers. Over its twenty year history winners and shortlisted authors have included Siobhan Dowd, Meg Rosoff, Mal Peet, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Patrick Ness as well as Frances Hardinge and Philip Reeve.
This year more than 40 books were submitted, twice as many as in its first year, and by two dozen different publishers; 20 have made it onto the longlist.
The 2019 Branford Boase Award longlist in full
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)
Boy Underwater by Adam Baron, edited by Nick Lake and Sarah Hughes (HarperCollins)
The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)
Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)
The Fandom by Anna Day, edited by Kesia Lupo (Chicken House)
Me Mam. Me Dad. Me by Malcolm Duffy, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)
Twister by Juliette Forrest edited by Lauren Fortune (Scholastic)
Flight by Vanessa Harbour, edited by Janet Thomas (Firefly)
Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy, edited by Linas Alsenas (Scholastic)
The Goose Road by Rowena House, edited by Mara Bergman (Walker Books)
Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James, edited by Rachel Denwood and Sarah Hughes (HarperCollins)
The Mystery of the Colour Thief by Ewa Jozefkowicz, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)
I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan, edited by Lucy Pearse (Macmillan)
Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion Children’s Books)
On a Scale of One to Ten by Ceylan Scott edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House)
Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw, edited by Bella Pearson and Anthony Hinton (David Fickling Books)
Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton, edited Emma Matthewson (Hot Key)
Run Riot by Nikesh Shukla, edited by Emma Goldhawk (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle by Victoria Williamson, edited by Jennie Skinner and Sally Polson (Floris Books)
This year’s award judges are
- Sanchita Basu De Sarkar of the Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill
- Ellen Krajewski, librarian at Hemel Hempstead School, Hertfordshire
- Louise Johns-Shepherd, chief executive of CLPE
- Mitch Johnson, author of Kick, winner of the 2018 Branford Boase Award
As usual, the panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children’s director of the Hay Festival
The Branford Boase Award is sponsored by Walker Books who have pledged new funding to ensure its future. Jane Winterbotham, publishing director said: “Walker Books is delighted to continue its support for the Branford Boase Award. We hugely value the contribution the award has made in encouraging and highlighting new writing talent, as well as in recognising the role played by the editor in supporting writers at the start of their career. The award is an inspiring memorial to the work of gifted novelist Henrietta Branford and Walker’s founding editor, Wendy Boase, in whose names the award was established 20 years ago.”
The shortlist for the Award will be announced on 1st May 2019. The winner will be announced on 3rd July at a ceremony in London.
Walker Books have published a new edition of Henrietta Branford’s multi-award-winning book Fire, Bed and Bone. The story of the Peasants’ Revolt seen through the eyes of an old hunting dog, it gives a long-ago past an immediacy and freshness as it tells of working people’s struggle for survival in the face of cruelty by landlords and the church. Branford’s last book, it won the Guardian prize, a Smarties Award and was highly commended for the Carnegie Medal.
Classics Revisited For Modern Times
Young adult books reviewed by Fiona Noble:
Titles featured
- The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick
“an ambitious and original take on the gothic” - No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
“This may be a story about poverty and depression, but there’s hope and humour at its heart” - Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon
“Passionate and inclusive” - For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
“Defiant and inspirational” - Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) by Scarlett Curtis
“wonderfully candid” - The Light Between The Worlds by Laura Weymouth
“assured debut”
Branford Boase Winner 2015
Long listed and Shortlisted titles
When the book you thought should have been shortlisted for an award isn’t even longlisted you at least hope the eventual winning title will be one you have actually read.
I had read 5 of the seven shortlisted Branford Boase Award books and having reviewed a number of them, I was hoping that either Clare Furniss or Rupert Wallis would be the judges’ selection.
As it happens (that three-lettered law) they have chosen one of the two novels I haven’t read, Leopold Blue by Rosie Rowell, which naturally now goes to the top of my to-be-read pile to see how strongly I agree with the judgment. (Publisher, are there any review copies still available?)
Julia Eccleshare, chair of the judging panel, said of the winning book: “This year’s Branford Boase shortlist was very strong indeed and a number of books on the list have already appeared on shortlists for other prestigious awards. However, in Leopold Blue the judges have found a work of originality, power and intelligence that seems surprisingly to have escaped the notice it deserves. The characters and setting are brilliantly observed and described, and all readers will recognise something of themselves in Meg. The background gives it particular depth and it transcends the coming-of-age genre.” Rowell herself said that the book was something of a lovesong to the townships of her youth.
The tube strike depleted the assembly only very slightly (though I did note the absence of at least one shortlisted author). The presence of Jacqueline Wilson, a generous sponsor of the award, throughout the ceremony is especially good for the Young Writer prizewinners, inevitably mainly female. (The Young Writer Award was judged this year by Prue Goodwin.)
Prue Goodwin
I always forget how tied up with book signing the shortlisted authors become after the announcement, so regret not talking to Clare Furniss earlier, to emphasise how much I enjoyed The Year of the Rat. It was good though to speak again with last year’s winner, C. J. Flood, and to hear how her next book is coming along, and with Rupert Wallis, who told me his second novel is due out next month and that he is already at work on a third.
Chelsey Flood
Rupert Wallis
Hats have been notable by their absence this week. First it was Shirley Hughes who turned up for the Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday _not_ wearing a hat and confounding Michael Morpurgo’s expectations, and now this evening at the Branford Boase Award ceremony it was the absence of David Lloyd (Walker’s man-in-the-hat and madhatter speech-maker extraordinaire) who was away fishing.
Another notable absence that was emphatically remarked upon was that of a previous award winner, the recently departed Mal Peet, who I never saw wearing a hat. It’s a source of some satisfaction to me (I know, I’ve mentioned it before, so excuse the repetition here) that I was on the judging panel (along with Kevin Brooks) the year Mal was chosen as the winner. Of course Mal would have gone on to win other awards even if he hadn’t been that year’s BBA winner – as any of this year’s unsuccessful shortlisted or longlisted authors may do as well, and as I’m sure the mysteriously overlooked Jon Walter will also (probably with his marvellous second novel) – but it is still a good feeling to have been amongst those who recognised the exceptional quality of Peet’s first book, Keeper. Books like that set the bar high. Which is as it should be.
As always the event was exceptionally well-managed and choreographed by both Anne Marley and the regular photographer for the evening, Paul Carter.
Anne Marley, Giancarlo Gemin, Clare Furniss
Paul Carter
Vivian of the Newham Bookshop was running the book stand single-handed this year, her assistant John having been impeded by the underground strike.The award is unique for honouring the editor of a book as well as the author. The relationship of author and editor is a special one (the winning author spoke eloquently about how much she had learnt as a writer by working with her first editor, Emily Thomas) and authors I speak to regularly tell me how unsettling it is when they have to get used to working with a different editor mid-book, as happens all too frequently.
Indeed, such is the instability of the author-editor relationship that you sometimes wonder if the author-agent relationship is actually just as or (in some instances) more significant, especially in the case of first novels. After all, it is the agent who has had to spot the talent in the first place and, in all likelihood, has undertaken a good deal of editing before the finished book is ever submitted to a publisher’s editorial department.
In which case, although actual ones have been a bit absent this week, metaphorical hats off to Rosie Rowell’s agent, Claire Wilson.
Claire Wilson
