Branford Boase Award | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Writers award |
Country | United Kingdom |
First awarded | 2000 |
Website | branfordboaseaward |
The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist." [1] The award is shared by both the author and their editor, which The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature noted is unusual for literary awards. [2]
Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books, and Henrietta Branford worked together to produce a great number of books. Both Boase and Branford died in 1999 of cancer. The Branford Boase Award was created to celebrate and commemorate their names and memories and to encourage new talent in writing, which they worked for. The awards were a joint idea by Julia Eccleshare and Anne Marley who both had jobs to do with books. [3] The Branford Boase Award runs alongside the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for young writers (under 19). [3]
Winners receive a hand-crafted box with the Branford Boase Award logo and a cheque for £1,000. The prize and the official website are currently sponsored by the best-selling children's writer Jacqueline Wilson. [4] The award is given to both the author and their editor, "in recognition of the editor’s role in bringing a debut author to market." [2]
The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature has written that the award's "success in talent-spotting has been impressive, consistently recognising debut works by writers who subsequently go on to achieve great things—among them Marcus Sedgwick, Mal Peet, Meg Rosoff, B. R. Collins, Frances Hardinge, Sally Prue, Kevin Brooks and Siobhan Dowd." [2]
In 2018 judges for the competition criticized the amount of family dramas nominated for the award, stating that it was formulaic and showed a lack of diversity. [5] Judge Philip Womack stated that at least third of the books fell into this category and that they all had a “very similar narrative: there’s an ill child at home, who notices something odd, and is probably imagining it, but not telling the reader. They’re all in the first person, all in the present tense, all of a type". [6] The Bookseller commented on the shortlist submissions for 2022, noting that there was a wider variety of authors and that they were more ambitious, which they felt resulted in "freshly told stories which reflect the writers’ understanding of the needs of today’s readers and the certainty of authors and publishers that those readers want to read outside their own experiences." [1] Publishing Perspectives praised the 2022 shortlist for including a strong selection of books that appeal to both boys and girls. [7]
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author of the book by The Guardian newspaper, which established it in 1965 and inaugurated it in 1967. It was a lifetime award in that previous winners were not eligible. At least from 2000 the prize was £1,500. The prize was apparently discontinued after 2016, though no formal announcement appears to have been made.
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize is five million SEK, making it the richest award in children's literature and one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The annual cost of 10 million SEK is financed with tax money.
Wendy Boase born in Melbourne, Australia, she was one of the co-founders of the children's publishing company Walker Books. She held the position of editorial director of Walker Books until her death in 1999 from cancer. The Branford Boase Award is in part named after her. Wendy Boase helped Henrietta Branford to write the novel Fire, Bed, and Bone which won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. She was also involved with the publication of Lucy Cousin's popular Maisy picture book series for young children.
Henrietta Diana Primrose Longstaff Branford was an English author of children's books. Her greatest success was Fire, Bed and Bone (1997), a historical novel set during the English peasants' revolt of 1381. For that she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers, and she was a highly commended runner up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.
The International Thriller Writers Awards are awarded by International Thriller Writers at the annual Thrillerfest conferences for outstanding work in the field since 2006.
The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Science Fiction Novel was first presented in 1980, and is among the awards still presented. Previously, there had simply been an award for Best Novel. A similar award for Best Fantasy Novel was introduced in 1978. The Locus Awards have been described as a prestigious prize in science fiction, fantasy and horror literature.
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They remain the most prestigious awards in the entire mystery genre. The award for Best Young Adult Mystery was established in 1989 and recognizes works written for ages twelve to eighteen, and grades eight through twelve. Prior to the establishment of this award, the Mystery Writers of America awarded a special Edgar to Katherine Paterson for The Master Puppeteer in 1977.
The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best First Novel was first presented in 1981. The Locus Awards have been described as a prestigious prize in science fiction, fantasy and horror literature.
The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by Locus Magazine as part of their Locus Awards.
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They remain the most prestigious awards in the entire mystery genre. Since 1961 they have presented an award in the category of Best Juvenile Mystery Fiction.
Winners of the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
The Chautauqua Prize is an annual American literary award established by the Chautauqua Institution in 2012. The winner receives US$7,500 and all travel and expenses for a one-week summer residency at Chautauqua. It is a "national prize that celebrates a book of fiction or literary/narrative nonfiction that provides a richly rewarding reading experience and honors the author for a significant contribution to the literary arts."
The Locus Award for Best Novella is one of a number of Locus Awards given out each year by Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
The Locus Award for Best Novelette is one of a series of Locus Awards given annually by Locus Magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
The Locus Award for Best Short Story is one of a series of Locus Awards given every year by Locus Magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year.
Eleanor Williams is a British writer. Her debut collection of prose, Attrib. and Other Stories, was awarded the Republic of Consciousness Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2018. Her writing has also been anthologised in The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story, Liberating the Canon and Not Here: A Queer Anthology of Loneliness.
Natasha Farrant is a British children's author. In 2020, she won the Costa Book Award for Children's Book for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk.
The House with Chicken Legs is a 2018 middle-grade fantasy novel by Sophie Anderson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. Inspired by traditional Baba Yaga tales, the novel follows a young girl, Marinka, who lives with her grandmother in a magical, sentient house, traveling the world while her grandmother helps support and guide newly deceased people to the afterlife.
Sophie Anderson is a Welsh author. Among other honours, her books have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal three times.
The G. P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award was established in 2019 to honor Sue Grafton and is presented to "the best novel in a series featuring a female protagonist." It is presented annually as part of the Edgar Awards on behalf of the Mystery Writers of America.