Ones to watch out for
Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2021
Category: Book Awards
Strong new voices in children's fiction are highlighted in the annual Branford Boase award and this year's longlist has just been announced.
The Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children and the award has a notable record in picking out talented authors at the start of their career with past winners and shortlisted authors including Siobhan Dowd, Meg Rosoff, Mal Peet and Frank Cottrell Boyce.
The Branford Boase Award Longlist
The Branford Boase Award also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.
More books have been longlisted this year than ever before, with 25 books included after more than 60 books were submitted. This year's longlisted books include poet Patience Agbabi's The Infinite, Wranglestone by Darren Charlton and The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson, both shortlisted for the Costa Book Award, and A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, recently announced as Blackwell's Book of the Year.
Previous winning editors on this year's longlist include Sarah Odedina (2020 winner), and Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (2018 winners).
The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, will open on Monday 1 February 2021.
The 2021 Branford Boase Award longlist in full:
The Infinite by Patience Agbabi, edited by Jo Dingley (Canongate)
The Sky is Mine by Amy Beashel, edited by Shadi Doostdar (Rock the Boat, an imprint of Oneworld)
Wranglestone by Darren Charlton, edited by Katie Jennings (Stripes)
Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion)
Boy, Everywhere by AM Dassu, edited by Emma Roberts (Old Barn Books)
The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliott, edited by Annalie Grainger & Megan Middleton (Walker)
When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten, edited by Sarah Odedina (Pushkin Press)
A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth by Francesca Gibbons, edited by Nick Lake, illus by Chris Riddell (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Last Lesson by James Goodhand, edited by Ben Horslen (Penguin)
Orla and the Serpent's Curse by C.J. Haslam, edited by Frances Taffinder (Walker Books)
Witch by Finbar Hawkins, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)
And the Stars were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon and Schuster)
The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley, edited by Lucy Mackay-Sim (Bloomsbury)
The Wolf Road by Richard Lambert edited by Mikka Haugaard (Everything with Words)
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion)
A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, edited by Eishar Brar (Knights Of)
Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann, edited by Carmen McCullough (Penguin)
Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray, edited by Ben Horslen, illus Manuel Sumberac (Puffin)
Anisha Accidental Detective by Serena Patel, edited by Stephanie King, illus Emma McCann (Usborne)
The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, illus Rob Biddulph (Usborne)
Are You Watching? By Vincent Ralph, edited by Tig Wallace (Penguin)
The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler, edited by Jane Griffiths, illus Chris Mould (Simon and Schuster)
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke, edited by Naomi Colthurst, illus Ayesha L. Rubio (Puffin)
The Pure Heart by Trudi Tweedie, edited by Kesia Lupo (Chicken House)
Diary of a Confused Feminist by Kate Weston, edited by Sarah Lambert (Hodder Children's Books)
This year's judges are librarian Zoey Dixon, bookseller Natasha Radford (Chicken and Frog bookshop); consultant Scott Evans and Liz Hyder, author of Bearmouth, winner of the 2020 Branford Boase Award. The panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare.
The Branford Boase Award is sponsored by Walker Books. The award was set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books,
The shortlist for the Award will be announced on Thursday 29 April 2020.
The winner will be announced on 15 July, COVID-19 rules permitting, at an award ceremony in London.
