News

The winner of the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize 2010 is The Great Hamster Massacre (Simon & Schuster) by debut author Katie Davies. The Great Hamster Massacre is an endearing tale of a young girl’s life and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the untimely death of her beloved pet.

The winner was announced by Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne in an evening ceremony at Waterstone’s Piccadilly, on Wednesday 10th February. The award continues to highlight the passion of booksellers in championing the emerging talent in the world of childrens’ books.

100 Stories for Haiti is now available in both ebook format (Smashwords.com) and paperback (BridgeHousePublishing.co.uk). We are also selling the paperback edition from our online shop at the price of £14 which includes return postage – so very slightly cheaper than the Bridge House price. However should you require multiple copies please still order direct from Bridge House.

All proceeds will be going to the Red Cross working in Haiti. In the event that the Appeal raises more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will go to the British Red Cross Disaster Fund. For more information visit www.redcross.org.uk

A big thank you to everyone who submitted short stories for 100 Stories for Haiti. Writers’ Advice Centre authors Maureen Vincent-Northam, Victoria Biram and Jean Blackwell have all had stories chosen for the book after spotting details of the project on this site.

There is a huge range of stories in the anthology. Some of the stories are flash fiction, others could easily grace the pages of a woman’s magazine, while others are deeper and more poetic.

The book is the brainchild of Writers’ Advice Centre author, Greg McQueen. Says Greg, “I set out to produce a book that anyone could pick up and enjoy.”

Please note that we are currently making changes to our online payment systems so, over the next few weeks, there will be times when our online shop may not be available. If this should be the case please feel free to phone us direct on 0797 9905353 (we can take payment over the phone), or pay by cheque (cheques payable to The Writers Advice Centre).

Scottish author Keith Gray has won the older readers’(12-16) category in the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books for his novel Ostrich Boys, which tackles the issue of teenage suicide.

Lari Don won the younger readers’(8 – 11) category for her debut book First Aid for Fairies and other Fabled Beasts. It tells the story of the daughter of a vet who learns to perform first aid for magical creatures.

Viz cartoonist John Fardell won the early years (up to 7) category for his picture book Manfred the Baddie.

For details of other shortlisted books in each category visit www.scottishbooktrust.com

Michael Rosen has announced the winners of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2009. Mr Pusskins’s Best in Show by Sam Lloyd won the category for books for children aged six and under, while Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky by Philip Ardagh won the category for books for children aged seven to fourteen.

The winners each received a cheque for £2,500 and a bottle of wine from Roald Dahl’s personal wine cellar!

The winner of the 2009 Costa Children’s Book Award is Patrick Ness with his book The Ask and the Answer. The announcement was made on January 5th on Radio Four’s Today programme.Shortlisted titles included Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd, Troubador by Mary Hoffman and Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera.

Mal Peet has won this year’s Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for his novel Exposure. Exposure is a modern day version of Othello with the Moor of Venice transformed into a South American football star while his wife, Desmerelda, is a popstar.

Mal didn’t write his first novel until he was 52. Keeper won the Branford Boase Award while his second book, Tamar, won the Carnegie Medal.

Having heard Mal speak at Writers’ House – home of the Author Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS)- I can’t think of a more deserving winner.

Two independent publishers are currently looking for new authors.

Piccadilly Press is focusing on commissioning new picture books, teenage fiction and teenage non-fiction. And non-fiction publisher Tick Tock is to launch a fiction list in May 2010. Publisher Melissa Fairley said that the new fiction list would focus on distinct series and individual titles rather than mass market series.

She says, “We are not looking for books about horses and princesses but something a little different. As an independent publisher we can gamble with new authors and concepts.”

Please click on the links below for submission guidelines. Read carefully and follow to the letter! Both TickTock and Piccadilly have specifically asked that authors do not contact them direct for guidelines.

Piccadilly_Press_Submission_Guidelines.doc

TickTock_Fiction_Submission_Guidelines.doc

Our 2010 competition is now open for entries.

The 2010 theme is Beginnings & Endings. What we are looking for is the opening 500 words to a story and the closing 500 words. What this should mean is that writers will be required to have some idea as to where their story is going from start to finish.

For full details of the competition and an entry form please click on the link below. The closing date is end August 2010. Good luck!

Entry_Form.doc

The winner of our 2009 story competition was Nicola Russell-Johnson with her first chapter to a novel for 8 – 12 year-olds Don’t Know Jack. You can read her winning entry by clicking on the link below.

Don_t_Know_Jack1.doc

The Kelpies Prize is an annual prize for new Scottish writing for children. The judges are looking for manuscripts which are set wholly, or mainly, in Scotland. They want to see a cracking story with strong characters, believable dialogue and compelling atmosphere which will engage children aged roughly 9-12 years old.

Last year’s prize was awarded to Janice Mackay for her book Magnus Fin & the Ocean Quest. Janice’s book will be published on 22nd October by Floris Books.

The closing date for entries for the 2010 Prize is 26 February 2010. If you would like to submit a manuscript visit www.florisbooks.co.uk for full details of the prize and an application form.

This year’s Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award has been won by Cristy Burne with her book Takeshita Demons.

The award was set up by Frances Lincoln Books in partnership with Seven Stories, the Newcastle-based centre for children’s books, to encourage new writing with a focus on diversity. Takeshita Demons will be published in June 2010 by Janetta Otter-Barry Books – a newly set up imprint of Frances Lincoln which will focus on publishing multicultural picture books, information titles and fiction for eight to twelve year-olds.

This award is a fantastic opportunity for new authors interested in writing culturally diverse material. Fifty entries were received for this year’s inaugural award and the winner is now likely to sign a three book deal with her publisher. For an entry form for the 2010 award email diversevoices@sevenstories.org.uk. The closing date is 26th February, 2010.