Meet the judges for the 2021 Branford Boase Award
Liz Hyder
Liz won the 2020 Branford Boase Award with her novel Bearmouth, which also won the Waterstones Children’s Book Award for Older Readers. As well as being a writer, Liz is a creative workshop leader. She has a BA in drama from the University of Bristol and, in early 2018, won The Bridge Award/Moniack Mhor’s Emerging Writer Award. Originally from London, she now lives in Ludlow in South Shropshire surrounded by hills, plants and a very furry cat.
Zoey Dixon
Zoey Dixon has worked for Lambeth Libraries for more than twenty years. After completing her first degree she got a role as Children’s and Young People’s Librarian, working in four of the town centre libraries at various times over ten years. Zoey now manages four Lambeth community hub libraries, where she continues to deliver frontline services to children and teens and is also a development librarian, a strategic role that enables her to help shape the library service.
Zoey has served on the book selection panels for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge, BookTrust’s Letterbox Club and the judging panel for CILIP’s Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Book Awards. She is one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars in 2020 and is Chair of YLG (Youth Libraries Group) London.
Scott Evans
Scott Evans is a primary school teacher, Reading Lead and children’s books consultant and influencer. He reads, reviews and recommends a range of children’s literature on his website TheReaderTeacher.com which is designed for teachers, schools, parents and children. Before training as a teacher, he worked in libraries for many years and is passionate about the importance of school and public libraries. Scott has appeared on and written for the BBC about raising children as readers and hosts #PrimarySchoolBookClub – a monthly online children’s book club, chat and vote for anyone working in primary education.
Natasha Radford
Together with her husband Jim, Natasha runs children’s bookshop Chicken and Frog in Brentwood, Essex. They opened the shop in 2012 and it is recognised as one of the best independent bookshops in the UK. Before becoming a bookseller, Natasha was a teacher (for eighteen years). She also has an MA in Children’s Literature.
Julia Eccleshare
Julia is the children’s director of the Hay Festival and head of Public Lending Right policy and advocacy and a regular contributor to Radio 4’s Front Row and Open Book programmes. Julia is the Chair of the Judging Panel.
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