Animals rule the roost in the shortlist for the Booktrust Early Years Awards 2010
Booktrust is pleased to announce the 2010 shortlist for their Early Years Awards. The shortlisted books all exemplify the remarkable creativity in words, design and illustration necessary to encourage young children to read.
Old favourites such as the long-running Usborne series That’s Not My… and well established authors and illustrators such as Rod Campbell and Annie Kubler proved to have enduring popularity for the youngest readers, all featuring in the shortlist for the Best Book for babies category. Books featuring animals dominated the Best Picture Book category, from flying jellyfish and stinky skunks to smart fish and a rather large moose. The next generation of illustration talent is celebrated in the Best Emerging Illustrator category, with four out of the six shortlisted books by debut illustrators.
Click here to see the full Early Years Award shortlist
Submissions now open for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2011
Booktrust is delighted to announce the launch of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2011. The Prize honours the best work of fiction by a living author, which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom during 2010. Uniquely, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize gives the winning author and translator equal status: each receives £5,000.
Click here to read more about the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2011
Celebrities, authors and illustrators play THE SHAPE GAME for charity with Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne
Original artwork from illustrious names including Quentin Blake, Emma Thompson, Harry Hill, Ian McEwan and Sir Peter Blake will go on sale today as part of Anthony Browne’s The Shape Game project, in aid of the charity Rainbow Trust.
A fun drawing game involving a random shape being transformed into something recognisable, The Shape Game has now been taken on by over 45 writers, artists, illustrators and celebrities who have let their imaginations loose on an original shape drawn by Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne.
Click here to visit the Children's Laureate website
The winners of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010 and the Orange Award for New Writers 2010 have been announced
Barbara Kingsolver has won the 15th Orange Prize for Fiction with The Lacuna. 'We chose The Lacuna because it is a book of breathtaking scale and shattering moments of poignancy' said Daisy Goodwin, chair of judges.
Irene Sabatini has won the Orange Award for New Writers 2010 with The Boy Next Door. 'Immediately engaging, vivid and buzzing with energy, The Boy Next Door is the work of a true storyteller' said Di Speirs, chair of judges.
New Booked Up booklist announced
By Christmas over 2 and half million books will have been given to Year 7 pupils across the country through the free books programme Booked Up, since its inception in 2007. Booked Up, which today launches its fourth year, is run by the national literature charity Booktrust, with the aim of encouraging reading for pleasure and independent reading choice.
Click here to view the booklist
Gallacher and Foreman join forces to find the best books for babies
The broadcaster and TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher and award-winning author/illustrator Michael Foreman have today been announced as judges for the 2010 Booktrust Early Years Awards. The Awards honour books that demonstrate remarkable creativity in words, design and illustration necessary to encourage young children into reading.
Click here to find out more about the Booktrust Early Years Awards
A prestigious panel of judges has been announced for the 2010 Award.
This year's panel of judges are: BBC Radio 4 broadcaster James Naughtie (chair), author and Guardian journalist Kamila Shamsie, author and poet Owen Sheers, author Shena Mackay and Editor Readings, BBC Radio, Di Speirs.
Click here to read more about the judges and the Award itself, which is still accepting entries
Entries invited for John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2010
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, founded 68 years ago in honour of the writer John Llewellyn Rhys, who was killed in action in World War II, is open to British and Commonwealth writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, aged 35 or under, at the time of publication. The prize is worth £5,000 to the winner, with the other shortlisted authors receiving £500 each.
Entries are now invited for any work of literature - poetry, fiction, short stories, plays, biography or literary non-fiction, written by a British or Commonwealth writer aged 35 or under at the time of publication.
Click here to read more about this year's prize
Reading for Pleasure gets two new champions
Booktrust has signed up to the Just Read! Campaign – and it would be good if we could all sign up as individuals too.
Just Read has been set up by people from the children’s book world, authors, illustrators, booksellers, agents, librarians, publishers and the media, as well as teachers and teacher educators and the major literacy charities.
The aim is to promote Reading for Pleasure and make every school a reading school.
You can join at www.JustReadCampaign.co.uk
Booktrust has also joined the Cultural Learning Alliance. We all need to do more to ensure that literature and reading and writing for pleasure is fully recognised as an important cultural activity and all of us should promote and celebrate the national bookgifting programmes as a universal cultural and creative entitlement for every child.
Let's make our presence felt by signing up in huge numbers at www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk
Booktrust is pleased to announce the 2010 panel of judges for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.
The prize, which celebrates the best contemporary writing for young adults, is in its eighth year. This year’s judging panel will be chaired by popular children’s and young adult author Tony Bradman and includes Barbara Ellen, Mary Hoffman, Barbara Band and Claudia Freemantle.
Click here to read more about the judges
Bookbite announces a new writer in residence
Bookbite is proud to present Michèle Roberts as its second online writer in residence. As a novelist Michèle will mainly focus on how to write fiction in her blogs. Michèle Roberts is half English and half French. She has published 20 books of fiction, poetry and essays. Her novel Daughters of the House won the WH Smith Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. After being Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia for five years she now works freelance again. She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature and a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She also makes artist's books and reviews regularly for the press and for radio.
Booktrust's second newsletter is now online
Click here to view the newsletter
BBC National Short Story Award 2010 launches
The BBC National Short Story Award has launched its fifth year. The award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000. The runner up receives £3,000 and three further shortlisted authors, £500 each.
This year’s award is now open for submissions from publishers, agents and published authors from the UK. The closing date for entries is 18th June 2010.
Click here for more information about entering
1.4 million free books inspire children to explore the natural world
From this September, 1.4 million free books will be given out to all 4-5 year olds in England.
Booktime will this year give each child a copy of "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth (Puffin) by Eric Carle. Each story book is a gift from Pearson. "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth is a wonderful philosophical statement in favour of slowness from the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Click here to download the press release
The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Competition £25k winner announced
New Zealand’s most distinguished novelist and poet, C K Stead, aged 77, has won the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award for Last Season’s Man. This is the largest short story prize in the world, offering £25,000 for a single short story.
Click here to read more about the winner of The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Competition
Award winning debut novelist seeks to champion independent bookshops as Booktrust online writer in residence
The 2009 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winning author Evie Wyld has today been announced as Booktrust’s third online writer in residence. The 29-year-old won the prestigious prize with her debut novel set in Australia, After the Fire, A Still Small Voice, which has since been shortlisted for the 2010 Authors Club First Novel Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
Click here to read more about Evie's residency
The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Competition shortlist is announced
The shortlist for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award was announced on Sunday 7 March 2010. Six writers are competing for the £25,000 prize for a single short story. The winner will be announced on 26 March 2010.
Click here to see the full shortlist
Blue Peter Book Award 2010 Winners Announced
A thrilling adventure of two cryogenically frozen children from the 1950s, brought back to life in 2009 has been crowned the Blue Peter Book of the Year at this year’s Blue Peter Book Awards.
The author Ali Sparkes, who previously worked as a Bluecoat in Pontins, a sequined assistant to a juggling unicyclist and a comedy columnist for Radio 4’s Home Truths, was announced as the winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award 2010 with her book Frozen in Time.
The book saw off intense competition from celebrated authors including the award-winning Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Frozen in Time won the ultimate accolade on the special episode of Blue Peter broadcast 3 March on BBC One in honour of World Book Day.
Click here to download the press release
The longlist for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award is announced
The longlist for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award was announced on Sunday 21 February. Twenty writers - seven women and thirteen men - are competing for the £25,000 prize for a single short story.
Click here to read about the longlist
A new generation of 'silver scribblers'
A survey of more than 1,100 people aged 60 and over in the UK, has revealed a generation of ‘silver scribblers’ keen to use their growing familiarity with the internet to publish their own creative writing, join book groups and research their family history and stories.
Independent research was conducted with 1,162 people aged 60 and over across the UK on behalf of Bookbite, a reading and creative writing project for the over 60s run by the reading charity Booktrust.
Click here to read more about the survey
The reading project lifeline for children in care
Results published today by the reading charity Booktrust and the University of Leicester have revealed the phenomenal effect of a reading project on the literacy and mathematical abilities of children in care.
Results published today (Monday 26 January 2010) reveal the profound impact of the project on number and reading skills of the 1,000 children participating. Test results for 449 children were submitted.
Click here to read more about the findings
Booktrust launches its first reading and writing project for the over 60s
The independent reading charity Booktrust is launching its first project which aims to encourage over 60s to engage in reading and creative writing.
The project, entitled Bookbite, aims to inspire people aged 60 and over in England to take up reading and writing to experience the positive affects that they can offer for emotional health and wellbeing.
Bookbite also aims to encourage over 60s to explore the benefits of getting online by working closely with the thousands of UK Online centres across the country to access and explore the Bookbite website.
Click here to read more about the project
Short story novice clinches the BBC National Short Story Award
An award-winning poet has won the prestigious BBC National Short Story Award with her second attempt at a short story.
Kate Clanchy, who has worked primarily as a teacher and as Poet in Residence for the Red Cross, beat an exceptional shortlist which included past Orange Prize winners Lionel Shriver and Naomi Alderman, and BAFTA-nominated author Jane Rogers.
Click here to read more
Bookseller's first novel wins the JLR 2009
29-year-old Evie Wyld saw off competition from an exceptional shortlist which included the Booker winner Aravind Adiga and Orange Prize winner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with her book After the Fire, a Still Small Voice.
All-women shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award
This year’s BBC’s National Short Story Award will be an all female affair after the shortlist revealed that, for the first time, only women are in the running to win the award.
The award, which celebrates the best of the contemporary British short story, is one of the most prestigious for a single short story with the winning author receiving £15,000; the runner up £3,000 and three further authors £500 each.
Click here to read more about the shortlist
Booktrust is now taking bookings for the following conferences next year
Booktrust Conferences 2010
Reading for Pleasure, Reading for Life
Wednesday 20 January 2010
The Belmont Hotel, De Montfort Street, Leicester, LE1 7GR
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Armada House, Telephone Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4BQ
Wednesday 3 February 2010
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ
This conference will demonstrate the ways in which making Bookstart, Booktime, Booked Up and Letterbox Club a core part of your offer will support you and your Local Authority in inspiring a love of books for all.
Click here to download the conference flyer with booking form
Northern Ireland Booktrust Conference
The Gift of Books: inspiring a lifelong love of reading
Monday 22 February 2010
10am – 4pm followed by networking reception until 5pm
Dunsilly Hotel, 20 Dunsilly Road, Antrim BT41 2JH
This one day conference will present Booktrust’s bookgifting programmes and activities as offered across Northern Ireland. The focus will be on best practice and ways to build on Booktrust’s work with partners to ensure targeted provision and better access for all.
Click here to download the conference flyer with booking form
Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book wins the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009
Neil Gaiman, commonly known as the ‘rock star’ of the literary world, is revealed as the winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009.
His book The Graveyard Book saw off competition from five other authors including Patrick Ness who was nominated for a second year. Ness won the prize last year with The Knife of Never Letting Go.
The Graveyard Book tells the story of Nobody ‘Bod’ Owens, a child abandoned in a graveyard after the vicious murder of his parents and sister by The Man Jack. Raised and educated by the ghosts that live there, Bod encounters terrible and unexpected menaces in the horror of the pit of the Sleer and the city of Ghouls. It is in the land of the living that the real danger lies as The Man Jack is determined to find Bod and finish him off.
Neil Gaiman is listed as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. He is the creator of the iconic DC comic series Sandman, the only comic to ever make the New York Times Bestseller list.
Click here to read more about the Teenage Prize 2009
Perform-a-Poem is a brand new website for sharing children’s poetry performances
Launched this week at a reception at the National Theatre, this unique poetry performance website for primary school children encourages children to write, choose, perform, film and edit poems. It's a secure site for teachers and pupils who enjoy performing and watching performance poetry, developed in line with national standards on e-safety and child protection.
Perform-a-Poem, initially piloting for London schools, is a joint project between Michael Rosen, Booktrust and the London Grid for Learning (LGfL). It developed from an idea by Michael Rosen during his highly successful term as Children’s Laureate (2007-9): 'I’m hoping that Perform-a-Poem will give an opportunity for children and teachers to experiment and play with poetry in an exciting way. All poems have a voice; sometimes this voice is best heard silently, but most poems enjoy being spoken and performed, because this is how we get to feel a poem.'
As well as the video upload and browse features, Perform-a-Poem contains comprehensive resources for teachers to help their pupils write, choose, perform, film, edit and upload their poems.
Click here to visit Perform-a-Poem
Shortlist revealed for the CBBC’s Blue Peter Book Awards 2010
Booktrust and Blue Peter are delighted to announce the shortlist for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2010. These enormously popular and influential awards have been recognising and celebrating the best children’s authors, the most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children since 2000.
Read about the shortlist in full
Global concerns for an international John Llewellyn Rhys shortlist
The shortlist is announced today for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, which celebrates the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama) by a UK or Commonwealth writer aged 35 or under.
This year welcomes a truly international shortlist with writers from Nigeria, India, Canada Australia and the UK vying for this year’s award, which is the second oldest literary award in the UK. The 2009 shortlist comprises two works of non-fiction, a debut poetry collection, a collection of short stories and two novels.
Read about the shortlist in full
New research into children's reading habits
A survey of over 3,000 parents, carers and children in the UK commissioned for Booktime and Booked Up has found that the love of reading is growing among children.
However, the research, which was published on 20 October 2009, also showed that 3% of parents and carers never or rarely read with their children. For those who do, just one in three read with their children on a daily basis.
Read the research results in full
Friday 16 October is Everybody Writes Day!
Everybody Writes Day is an annual celebration of writing in schools where primary and secondary schools collapse the curriculum for one whole day to celebrate writing in all its forms.
On 15 October, Tidemill Primary School in Birmingham held an Everybody Writes day focused on their move from one school building to a newly built site.
On 16 October, children at Colemore Infants and Nursery School in Birmingham are enjoying a Diwali-themed Everybody Writes Day: writing on light boxes and lotus flowers and getting parents involved in their activities.
Visit the Everybody Writes website for writing games, inspiring projects and videos, all aimed at helping teachers create engaging and inspiring writing projects for their children.
The nation's favourite nursery rhyme is revealed!
The theme of this year’s National Bookstart Day, which takes place on Friday 9 October, is My Favourite Rhyme.
A survey of more than 2,500 people, conducted especially for Bookstart, has revealed that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is the nation's favourite nursery rhyme.
But the survey also shows that the UK is falling out of love with nursery rhymes, with parents claiming that they are simply too old-fashioned to interest their children.
Find out more about National Bookstart Day
Children's Book Week
Children’s Book Week is a celebration of reading for pleasure for children of primary school age.
Children’s Book Week 2009 takes place from 5-11 October; the theme is Words and Pictures.
Find out more about Children's Book Week
The second Booktrust: Power of Reading Award
Booktrust is proud to be sponsoring the Booktrust: Power of Reading Award for the second year running. The Award is one of the Adult Learners' Week Awards.
New EU READ website
For the next two years Booktrust will be chairing EU READ, a consortium of European reading promotion organisations. We have just redesigned the website.
Early Years Awards winners announced
At a packed ceremony at BAFTA, Piccadilly, in London, the winners of the Booktrust Early Years Awards were announced. Mara Bergman, Nick Maland, Ed Vere and Katie Cleminson received their trophies from Chair of judges Wendly Cooling MBE.
Booktrust Teenage Prize shortlist announced
The shortlist for the 2009 prize was announced on 21 September.
Read about the shortlisted titles
DCSF funding secured
DCSF confirms £27 million to fund Booktrust's free-book programmes.
Read Viv Bird's message about the DCSF funding
The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award is announced
The Sunday Times is pleased to announce a prestigious new annual literary prize: The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award. The winner will receive £25,000, making it the largest prize for an individual short story in the world.
Read more about the Sunday Times EFG Award
Our second online writer in residence is announced
Author and poet Nii Parkes is Booktrust's second online writer in residence.
Results of Booktrust's summer reading round-up revealed
Booktrust's seasonal round-up of the newspaper critics' summer reading recommendations has revealed that the most popular title for the beach this year is Sarah Waters' chilling novel The Little Sranger (Virago), with Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall not far behind.
In non-fiction, Antony Beevor's D-Day (Viking) and Gillian Tett's Fool's Gold (Little, Brown) were heralded.
Find out more about the summer reading round-up
Exclusive new story by Patrick Ness
Booktrust's first-ever online writer in residence has written a new story exclusively for the Booktrust website. A sort of prequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go, 'The New World' explains how Viola ended up on Todd's home planet. It also tells us more about Viola's relationship with her parents.
Anthony Browne is the new Children's Laureate
Anthony Browne, internationally acclaimed award-winning author and illustrator was announced as the Children’s Laureate for 2009-11 at a ceremony at Centre Point, London, on 9 June.
Accepting his medal from Andrew Motion, chair of the selection panel, Anthony said:
'It's an honour to be the Children's Laureate for 2009-11. I'm well aware of the amazing things achieved by the five previous Laureates, and I'm in awe of their commitment and hard work.'
Visit the Children's Laureate website to find out more
Booktime and Booked Up 2009 launch
In the UK’s biggest annual free book giveaway for schools, Booktrust will be delivering more than 2 million free books to pupils in reception and Year 7 by Christmas, through their Booktime and Booked Up programmes.
The Booktime programme for reception-aged pupils (4-5 years old) and Booked Up programme for Year 7 pupils (aged 11-12) both encourage reading for pleasure. The programmes continue to be supported in England by the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families). Both programmes are free to all participating schools.
Read the press release (Microsoft Word .doc 308Kb)
2009 Orange Prize winners announced
The winners of the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction and the 2009 Orange Award for New Writers were announced on 3 June at a ceremony in the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Marilynne Robinson won the Orange Prize for Fiction for Home (Virago) and Francesca Kay won the Orange Award for New Writers for An Equal Stillness (Weidenfeld & Nicolson).
Booktrust has administered the prize since its inception 14 years ago.
Visit the Orange Prize website
Booktrust launches Bedtime Reading Week
Booktrust is pleased to announce its support for this year’s National Family Week with their Bedtime Reading Week. The week will run from Wednesday 27 May to Wednesday 2 June.
National Family Week, which runs from 25–31 May 2009, is a new occasion to celebrate family life in the UK.
Bedtime Reading Week will encourage all the family to get involved in the sheer joy and pleasure of reading aloud.
To support the week, Booktrust has provided specially designed website pages providing tips and ideas on sharing stories and rhymes; advice on how to organise a Bedtime Reading Week event; recommended books to read aloud; downloadable Bedtime Reading posters and resources; games, songs and rhymes to enjoy at bedtime; advice for parents of children who are starting to read and for those who are already independent readers; and information about events at libraries, children’s centres, health clinics and schools where you can get together with other families to celebrate reading.
Visit our Bedtime Reading Week web pages
Choosing books to go in our bookgifting packs
Booktrust brings together independent panels of experts to select books for inclusion in the Booktrust national bookgifting programmes, Bookstart, Booktime and Booked Up.
Senior book consultant Wendy Cooling liaises with publishers and chairs the selection panels.
