Writers to watch out for

The shortlist for the Branford Boase Award has been announced, celebrating debut authors and their editors. With previous winners including Siobhan Dowd, Meg Rosoff and Philip Reeve, these are authors to watch out for.

The Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children, and their editor, highlighting the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent. This is the 20th year of the Branford Boase Award, which was founded to commemorate author Henrietta Branford and has developed an impressive record in identifying outstanding authors at the start of their careers. The shortlist for the 2019 award features the Blue Peter Book Award winner; a book that made the Costa shortlist; and a book in the running for the 2019 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Here is the shortlist in full: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne) (also been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal) The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne) Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne) The Goose Road by Rowena House, edited by Mara Bergman (Walker Books) I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan, edited by Lucy Pearse (Macmillan) (also shortlisted for the YA Book Award) Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen, edited by Sarah Stewart and Kendra Levin (Usborne) (alsoshortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award) The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion Children's Books) (also won the Blue Peter Book Award) This year the judges are Sanchita Basu De Sarkar of the Children's Bookshop, Muswell Hill; Ellen Krajewski, librarian at Hemel Hempstead School, Hertfordshire; Louise Johns-Shepherd, chief executive of CLPE; and Mitch Johnson, author of Kick, winner of the 2018 Branford Boase Award. The panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children's director of the Hay Festival. Julia Eccleshare said the award has given "a crucial early career boost to the most exciting and important young authors, and prompted publishers to seek out new talent. The award shortlists also reflect the preoccupations of contemporary children's literature, she added. "This years shortlist is weighted towards fiction for readers aged 8 11, but themes explored include resilience, identity and a sense of self." The winner of the 2019 Branford Boase Award will be announced on Thursday 27th June at a ceremony in London. The winning author receives a cheque for 1,000 and both author and editor receive a unique, hand-crafted silver-inlaid box.