25th anniversary of the Branford Boase Award, celebrating the most talented debut writers for children and their editors
25 vibrant new writers celebrated on the award’s 25th longlist
Set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of the year’s outstanding debut novel for children. The Branford Boase Award is the only award to honour the editor of the winning book, highlighting the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.
Founded in 2000, 2024 marks 25 years of this unique award.
The Branford Boase Award is known for identifying the most talented authors at the start of their career. Past winners and shortlisted authors have included Meg Rosoff, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Jenny Downham and Patrick Ness as well as Frances Hardinge, Philip Reeve, M.G. Leonard and most recently Maisie Chan (2022) and Christine Pillainayagam (2023).
Winning editors include Philip Pullman’s editor David Fickling, and Barry Cunningham, who famously published J K Rowling, plus Fiona Kennedy, Sarah Odedina and Bella Pearson.
For the fourth consecutive year, over 60 books were submitted, more than three times the number in 2000, and from 30 different publishing houses. Reflecting current trends in writing for children and young people, the longlist of 25 features three verse novels, including poet Matt Goodfellow’s The Final Year, edited by Charlotte Hacking (Otter-Barry Books) and Tia Fisher’s Crossing the Line, edited by Emma Matthewson and Tia Albert (Hot Key); detective stories, including Beth Lincoln’s ingenious Nero Book Awards shortlisted country house murder mystery, The Swifts, edited by Ben Horslen and Julie Strauss-Gabel (Puffin); YA romances including Lex Croucher’s ‘queer as hell’ comedy, Gwen and Art are Not in Love (Bloomsbury) edited by Hannah Sandford and also shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards; plus a wealth of original new fantasy adventures, including City of Stolen Magic (Puffin) by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak, edited by Natalie Doherty and India Chambers. Issues of identity and modern life are also explored in contemporary dramas including You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne).
Chair of the judges and co-founder of the Branford Boase Award, Julia Eccleshare says, “We are delighted to be celebrating 25 years of the Branford Boase Award as it continues to highlight the most talented new writers for children and the editors who support them. We’re excited that this year’s longlist features a particularly wide variety of voices and stories, all freshly told. It demonstrates the vibrancy of current children’s literature and is an inspiring memorial to the work of Henrietta Branford and Wendy Boase, in whose names the award was established 20 years ago.”
This year’s judges are Christine Pillainayagam, author and winner of the 2023 Branford Boase Award; Emily Drabble, Head of Children’s Books Promotion and Prizes at BookTrust; Lucas Maxwell, former School Librarian of the Year and winner of the UK Literacy Association’s Reading for Pleasure Teacher Champion Award 2022; and Amy McKay, also a past UK School Librarian of the Year and for ten years Yoto Carnegies National Coordinator. The judging panel will be chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children’s director of the Hay Festival.
The Branford Boase Award is delivered in partnership with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and supported by Walker Books.
The shortlist for the Award will be announced on Thursday 25 April 2024. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, 10 July 2024 at an award ceremony at CLPE in London.
The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, will open on Tuesday 6 February 2024.
For further information please contact Andrea Reece on 07807893369 or andrea.reece@zen.co.uk
Andrea Reece
30 Winton Avenue, London, N11 2AT
Tel: 0208 889 1292
Mob: 07807 893369
Email: branford.boase@gmail.com
Andrea Reece
Tel: 07807 893369 | Email: branford.boase@gmail.com