MITCH JOHNSON AND HIS EDITORS WIN 2018 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

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Mitch Johnson has been named winner of the 2018 Branford Boase Award for outstanding children’s debut for his novel Kick. Kick tells the story of football-mad youngster Budi whose dreams of superstardom provide him with hope while he works long hours making the boots his Real Madrid heroes wear.

The judges – last year’s winner M.G. Leonard, school librarian Helen Swinyard, Pickled Pepper Books owner Urmi Merchant and author and critic Philip Womack - were very impressed by the way Johnson enables readers to identify with Budi and understand his way of life, describing Kick as a brilliantly crafted story that will build empathy.

Now in its nineteenth year the Branford Boase Award is unique in acknowledging the importance of the editor, and Johnson shares his award with his editors Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker of Usborne.

Johnson, who works as a bookseller in Waterstones Norwich, was inspired to write Kick when he found a crumpled energy gel sachet in a shoebox between a brand new pair of football boots and began to wonder who had left it there. Later, as he channel-hopped between Match of the Day and a programme protesting the use of sweatshops, the disparity between star footballers and garment workers compelled him to highlight the issue.

Last year’s winner, M.G. (Maya) Leonard, a judge for the 2018 award said: ‘Kick is a skilfully written and perfectly paced. Mitch Johnston has produced a fantastically original debut that champions hope, dogged optimism in the face of adversity, and friendship. This book needs to be on the bookshelf of every school library, not just because it will encourage empathy, but because it’s a great book. Mitch Johnston is definitely one to watch.’

‘A book that has hopes and dreams at its heart’

On winning the award Johnson said: ‘The Branford Boase Award has recognized many of my favourite authors over the years, and so to receive the award myself is a wonderfully surreal experience Kick is a novel that I came close to abandoning on several occasions, but the thought that kept me going was that perhaps one day my book would get published, and perhaps if it got published someone might read it, and perhaps if someone read it they might question the way things are made. The plight of garment workers is a global issue affecting millions of people, and yet somehow it manages to remain largely out of sight. My hope is that Kickwill make this problem more visible, and winning the Branford Boase will undoubtedly encourage more readers to find out about the subject for themselves, and for this I am extremely grateful.

Winning has given me new confidence, and encouraged me to keep writing books that introduce young readers to complex social issues. I am so happy that the judging panel has chosen to champion a book that has hopes and dreams at its heart; I always hoped that one day my writing might be recognized by such a prestigious award, but I never dreamed that it would become a reality.’

Sharon Cohen and her editor Sarah Lambert were Highly Commended for The Starman and Me, about a boy who makes friends with a tiny, prehistoric human and tries to help him.

Leonard said: ‘The Starman and Me is a well told tale grown from the seed of an ingenious idea, and it grabs you on page one. We’re all excited to see what Sharon Cohen writes next.”

In a further demonstration of the unifying power of stories, two young Syrian refugees were amongst the winners of the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition (open to all those under the age of 19) which runs alongside the Branford Boase Award.

Fourteen-year old Yosuf Ali of Hatch End High School, Harrow won with his story Refugee to King, described by judge children’s literature and education consultant Prue Goodwin as “a metaphor for the chaotic, precarious and terrifyingly incoherent events that people go through to feel safe”, and eleven-year old Salam Rajab wrote her winning story Mr Swat’s Revenge in partnership with her school friend Sara Mazilu. Both girls are students at Sandringham School, Hertfordshire.

The complete list of titles on the 2018 shortlist are:

A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars by Yaba Badoe, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus: Zephyr)

The Starman and Me by Sharon Cohen, edited by Sarah Lambert (Quercus Children’s Books)

Fish Boy by Chloe Daykin, edited by Leah Thaxton (Faber)

Knighthood for Beginners by Elys Dolan, edited by Clare Whitston and Elv Moody (Oxford)

Kick by Mitch Johnson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)

Potter’s Boy by Tony Mitton, edited by Anthony Hinton (David Fickling Books)

The City of Secret Rivers by Jacob Sager Weinstein, edited by Gill Evans (Walker Books)