Editorial 244: September 2020
Hello and welcome to the 244th issue of Books for Keeps, another bumper edition. This issue’s review pages in particular are more than usually packed. After a year in which publishers have puzzled over how best to manage their schedules, 600 new books were published on Thursday 4 September alone. Certainly our office has been flooded with new books for children and young readers by established authors, rising stars and extremely talented debut writers and illustrators. Alongside fiction, non-fiction continues to thrive as does poetry for children. In the recent online award ceremony for the Branford Boase Award which highlights the most promising new authors, founder and chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare talked about the importance of new stories, because these stories and books probe what is going on in society now, helping young readers come to understand their world. This year’s Branford Boase Award winner, Bearmouth by Liz Hyder, is a book about ‘revolushun’ that though set in an imagined world has a great deal to say about the way we live now, and as Hyder said at the same event, she wants her readers to feel ‘angry but empowered.’ Other books on the shortlist, including The Space We’re In by Katya Balen, highly commended by the judges, and The Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton, deal with serious issues but each of these seven books are informed by and reflect on contemporary society. The results of a recent survey by UKLA on what literature is being taught in years 7 – 9 therefore is deeply concerning. The report’s authors found that ‘the ‘diet’ of literature experienced by these [pupils] is generally limited and does not exhibit the diversity that we might hope for, considering the wealth of literature available.’ When so many outstanding new books are being published, it’s sad that by Year 9, the researchers found only three texts published in the last 30 years were being taught, with the rest being over 60 years old. You can find the full report online.
Books for Keeps will continue to highlight new books and new writers, as it has done for the last forty years. In our last editorial we announced our plans to ensure the future of the magazine, launching a funding appeal to raise the £10,000 necessary to create a new website and preserve the archive.
We would like to thank everyone who has contributed so far and helped us raise over £4,000. Thank you in particular to authors Anne Fine, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, SF Said, Kate Wakeling, Pippa Goodhart, Tony Bradman, Matt Brown, Elen Caldecott; to publishers Walker Books, Scallywag Press, Book Island, Child’s Play and Klaus Flugge. Thank you too to all those who have made contributions, we very much appreciate it.
Please do spread the word and to donate now, go to the Books for Keeps Givey page.
If you have questions or suggestions, contact Managing Editor Andrea Reece, andrea.reece@zen.co.uk
