Culture & Creative IndustriesNews

Organisers of the Awesome Book Awards have announced the shortlist for the 2021 prize, which recognises the very best works of fiction for young readers aged between 7 and 10.

On the shortlist are:

Malamander by Thomas Taylor (Walker Books)
The Garden of Lost Secrets by A. M. Howell (Usborne Publishing)
The Girl Who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook (Nosy Crow)
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski (Orion Children’s Books)
The Switching Hour by Damaris Young (Scholastic)

To be eligible for the 2021 award the entrants had to be debut novels, suitable for able readers in the listed age group, appealing to both boys and girls and available in paperback from May 2019.

The winner will be announced on 6th May 2021 via an online event hosted on the Awesome Book Awards website. Adam Baron, winner of the 2020 Awesome Book Award for his debut children’s novel, Boy Underwater, will announce the winner, and the event will include readings by shortlisted authors.

Schools across the UK are invited to register to take part in the 2021 Awesome Books Awards at https://www.awesomebookawards.com, by reading the books on the shortlist and voting for their favourite.

Former Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child, author of the popular Charlie & Lola and Clarice Bean series, said: “The Awesome Book Awards are wonderful because it is the children themselves who are voting for their favourite books. Being a writer is a privilege, but even better is knowing that people are reading and enjoying what you are writing.”

The Awesome Book Awards were introduced five years ago by Cranleigh Schools. Previous winners include Ross Welford, Peter Bunzl, Tamsin Winter and Aaron Baron.

To read more about the Awesome Book Awards visit:

www.awesomebookawards.com