Sanchita Basu De Sarkar is the owner of Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill. She has worked in the shop since 2012, and bought it in 2015. She has been named a rising star of the book trade by publishing magazine the Bookseller, and judged the Costa Children’s Book Award in 2017.
Ellen Krajewski has been the Librarian at The Hemel Hempstead School in Hertfordshire since 2007.· She is Secretary to the CILIP School Libraries Group, a board member of the School Library Association, Chair of the Herts branch of SLA and also sits on the CILIP Youth Libraries Group national committee.· Ellen is an avid reader, particularly of Young Adult literature, and was a judge for the Carnegie/Greenaway medals in 2012 and 2013.· She is particularly committed to promoting Reading for Pleasure within her school and regularly reviews books for The School Librarian journal.
Louise Johns-Shepherd is the Chief Executive of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, a charity dedicated to supporting schools to teach literacy creatively and effectively.· Before joining CLPE, Louise was the headteacher of two schools, a nursery school and a primary school and also worked to develop education policy. Louise is a passionate believer in the power of children’s literature and literacy to transform lives and has written for a range of publications on the importance of quality literature. She is a governor of a primary school and was a judge for the Amnesty CILIP Honour Medal 2015-2018.
Mitch Johnson completed his debut novel, Kick, shortly after graduating from the University of East Anglia, where he studied English Literature with Creative Writing. Kick tells the story of Budi, a young sweatshop worker who dreams of escaping a life of poverty through his love of football. Endorsed by Amnesty International for its portrayal of children’s rights, Kick has been nominated for numerous local and national awards, including the 2019 CILIP Carnegie Medal, and won the 2018 Branford Boase Award.
Mitch lives with his wife and daughter in Norwich, where he works as a bookseller.
Julia Eccleshare 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.
Anne Marley
8 Bolderwood Close, Bishopstoke, Eastleigh, Hants, SO50 8PG
Tel: 02380 600439 | Mob: 07976 082049 | Email: anne.marley@tiscali.co.uk
Andrea Reece
Tel: 07807 893369 | Email: andrea.reece@zen.co.uk