Saturday, April 24, 2010

Gaiman double on the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway shortlists

23.04.10 | Victoria Gallagher in The Bookseller

Children's titles covering topics such as racism, war and global warming have been nominated in the CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist. While, Bloomsbury and Walker both have a duo of titles on the shortlist for this year's CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. It is also the first time for 30 years that a title has appeared on both the CILIP Carnegie and CILIP Kate Greenaway shortlists, with Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, illustrated by Chris Riddell (Bloomsbury) appearing on both.

The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children. This years shortlist includes Nation by Terry Pratchett and two titles published by Bloomsbury. Margaret Pemberton, chair of this year's CILIP Carnegie judging panel, said: "It's interesting that the eight titles that really stood out for us buck the current trend for escapism and the paranormal in young adult fiction." She added: "The writers have been brave with their choice of subject matter and have confronted some very real issues, but the quality of the writing carries each and every story. Whether the setting is a graveyard, another planet, a fantasy version of our own planet, the suburbs of a German town, a mental asylum or deep in the history of slavery, each offers a vivid and compelling narrative, whether for children of 9 and over, or for young adults."

The Kate Greenaway award for children's illustration has a shortlist of eight books which range in target age from two to nine plus. Two titles with text by Neil Gaiman made the shortlist, with The Graveyard Book also gracing the CILIP Carnegie Medal award. Also included on the shortlist are titles published by Templar, Scholastic, HarperCollins and Andersen Press.

Pemberton, a librarian at Bristol Schools Library Service, said: "The 2010 shortlist proves that picture books are not just for pre-schoolers. Illustrations can enrich the reading experience of all age-groups, and the eight titles in contention for the 2010 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal are outstanding examples of this."

The winner of the Carnegie Medal will be announced at a ceremony at BAFTA in central London on 24th June. Last year the prize was won by Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling)

The full shortlist is as follows:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Bloomsbury)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)
The Vanishing of Katerina Linden by Helen Grant (Penguin)
Rowan the Strange by Julie Hearn (OUP)
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Walker)
Nation by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday)
Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve (Scholastic)
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (Orion)

The winners of the Kate Greenaway Medal will be announced at a ceremony at BAFTA in central London on 24th June.

The full shortlist is as follows:

Leon and the Place Between by Grahame Baker-Smith (Templar)
Harry & Hopper Freya Blackwood (text by Margaret Wild) (Scholastic)
The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins)
Millie's Marvellous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura (Andersen Press)
Crazy Hair by Dave McKean (text by Neil Gaiman) (Bloomsbury)
The Graveyard Book by Chris Riddell (text by Neil Gaiman) (Bloomsbury)
The Dunderheads by David Roberts (text by Paul Fleischman) (Walker)
There are cats in this book by Viviane Schwarz (Walker)

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