BfK News: September 2003
PRIZES
National
English 4-11 Picturebook Awards
Awarded by The English Association the Key stage 1 winners are (fiction) Helen Ward’s The Cockerel and the Fox (Templar Publishing) and (non-fiction) Malachy Doyle and Angelo Rinaldi’s Cow (Simon & Schuster). The Key stage 2 winners are (fiction) Ann Grifalconi and Kate Nelson’s The Village That Vanished (Ragged Bears) and (non-fiction) Gillian Wolfe’s Look! Zoom in on Art (Frances Lincoln).
Red House Children’s Book Award
This year’s award has been won by Anthony Horowitz’s Skeleton Key (Walker) which also won the older readers category. The prize for younger children was won by Giles Andreae and Nick Sharratt’s Pants (David Fickling) and the younger readers’ award to Robert Swindells’ Blitzed (Doubleday).
Regional
Angus Book Award Winner 2003
Keith Gray has won the Angus Book Award 2003 with his novel Warehouse (Random House). The other shortlisted books were Demon Crossing by Louise Cooper (Hodder), Oranges and Murder by Alison Prince (Oxford), Bloodline by Malcolm Rose (Scholastic) and Feather Boy by Nicky Singer (Collins). Pupils at Angus schools vote for the winners.
Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award 2003
Now in its 17th year, the Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award has been won by Julie Bertagna for her novel Exodus (Macmillan). The runners-up were Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks (Chicken House) and Firesong by William Nicholson (Egmont). Other shortlisted titles were Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz (Walker), Reckless by Sue Mayfield (Hodder), Raider’s Tide by Maggie Prince (HarperCollins), Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (Scholastic), The Crying by Hazel Riley (Oxford), Last Seen Wearing Trainers by Rosie Rushton (Andersen) and Life on the Line by David Skipper (Walker). 350 pupils from 12 high schools took part.
Portsmouth Book Award 2003
John Farman’s Sequins, Stardom and Chloe’s Dad (Piccadilly) has won the Portsmouth Book Award. Jenny Nimmo’s Midnight for Charlie Bone (Egmont) was runner-up and Narinder Dhami’s Bend It Like Beckham (Hodder) was third. 114 students from ten city secondary schools took part in the voting.
International
Ezra Jack Keats Book Award 2003
The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award has been won by Shirin Yim Bridges (author) and Sophie Blackall (illustrator) of Ruby’s Wish (Chronicle Books).
PEOPLE
Suzy Jenvey has been appointed Editorial Director of Faber Children’s Books.
John Dunne has been appointed Head of County Services for Hampshire Library and Information Service and Anne Marley has been appointed Head of Children’s, Youth and School Library Service.
Jo Williamson has been appointed Children’s Publicity Director at HarperCollins.
EVENTS
Family Learning Weekend
The Campaign for Learning, a national charity working to promote learning for everyone, is organising a Family Learning Weekend from 10-12 October, to encourage more families to have fun learning together. For further information including details of local venues, contact 0117 966 7755, email: bhirst@cflearning.org.uk, website: www.familylearningweekend.com
Camden Council Black History Month
An exhibition of Images from Contemporary Children’s Literature featuring books published by Frances Lincoln and Tamarind Books will be shown from 1 October – 1 November at Swiss Cottage Central Library Gallery, London. For further information, contact Paul Collett on 020 7974 1597.
Reading is Magic!
Reading is Magic! is the thirteenth Dorset Teaching Reading Conference, a well-established regional event promoting children’s literature. The conference will be held at Bovington Middle School, near Wareham, on Saturday, 8 November, and is intended for teachers, literacy governors, teaching assistants, volunteer reading helpers, librarians and other enthusiasts. Speakers include Beverley Naidoo, Tim Bowler, Nick Sharratt, Sue Heap, Jonathan Douglas and Gervase Phinn. Further details from Philip Browne, The Dorset School Effectiveness Centre, Bovington Middle School, Bovington, Wareham, Dorset BH20 6NU (tel: 01929 405060, email: p.browne@dorsetcc.gov.uk).
The Children’s Bookshow
The Children’s Bookshow brings an award-winning cast of children’s writers, poets and illustrators to festivals and schools throughout England this autumn. Posy Simmonds, Michael Rosen, Kevin Crossley-Holland and Quentin Blake are amongst those taking part in the tour organized by Sian Williams in collaboration with the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) and Booktrust. The Children’s Bookshow begins during Children’s Book Week which runs from 6-12 October. For further information contact Sallie Robins, srPR, 020 7249 4858, 07733 330344, sr@srPR.net
Obituary
Dan Grisewood
24.10.34 – 28.6.03
Sue Unstead writes…
Innovative publisher of a new generation of children’s reference books – all who knew Dan will remember his terrific sense of fun, his energy and irreverence. Towering above his contemporaries at over 6ft 5in, he set a new benchmark in illustrated non-fiction, replacing grey chunks of text with high-quality colour artwork and integrated text – all familiar today, but startlingly fresh and original in the early 70s. Gaining valuable experience as publisher at Macdonald, in 1973 he set up his own packaging company Grisewood & Dempsey with generous funding from IPC. After a prolonged battle with Maxwell, who would not relinquish his 49% share, Dan refused to be beaten and eventually gained his independence. The company flourished with its new imprint Kingfisher, and when it was acquired by the French giant Groupe de la Cité, Dan became chief executive of Larousse. His gift for selling and extensive knowledge of printing earned him international partners who ensured that ambitious projects could be funded by a world market. His charismatic personality and enthusiasm also attracted a talented and loyal staff, one of whom, Jane Olliver, became his Editorial Director and later his wife. They made a great team. Dan’s departure seems like the passing of an era and he is missed by many friends around the globe.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Bill’s New Frock
Dear Editor
Margaret Meek says of my Bill’s New Frock that, because Bill is so relieved to find himself a boy again at the end of a hard day, ‘Girls still have to read the story “against themselves”.’ But a far more common response is the one I intended: that, as it becomes clear how very inappropriate so much of the day is for Bill, the reader’s inescapable conclusion is that the various irritations he suffers (no pockets in his frock, assumptions of Rapunzel-style passivity, emotions downgraded from real anger to merely ‘upset’, etc) are equally inappropriate for girls themselves, and should therefore be complained of loudly by the victims and looked at again by society.
Anne Fine, Gray Lane, Barnard Castle, Co Durham DL12 8PD
Fools Errand
Dear Editor
I am a 15-year-old who was reading your magazine the other day in the school library and I thought I would email you, as I cannot afford a stamp and anyway, when I begin to write letters my mind goes blank and my hands sweaty… The reason I felt that I really had to write is that in issue 140, I was reading the book review section in which kids write reviews for books they have read. The title that caught my eye was Fools Errand by Robin Hobb. Robin Hobb is a writer I keep close to my heart. I think she is fabulous! So I was quite put out when the reviewer describes the book as ‘funny’. Sure, you have funny instances and jokes, but overall, they were not designed to have a person in stitches, rolling over the floor. Rather, it is supposed to be a quite deep story, about prejudice, human values and moral dilemmas; not frivolous, like the reviewer made it sound. Fools Errand may not have been as good as Robin Hobb’s other books, but it is still emotion-invoking and of interest to the reader. It’s also for people who enjoy both LotR and HP, not for people who are bored with them.
Aisha Ahmed, streetfighter_x@hotmail.com
