Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: ‘I never saw autistic girls in books’

The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that people didn’t want to read about an autistic heroine. “In job interviews, I was saying that I wanted to see more books with disabled characters in them that were not traumatic, boring or educational, but fun and full of life. A lot of the reactions were, ‘Waterstones don’t like books like that’,” she says.Now McNicoll’s debut novel A Kind of Spark has won the Waterstones children’s book prize. Published by tiny independent Knights Of, it follows Addie, an 11-year-old autistic girl, as she campaigns for a memorial to the witch trials that took place in her Scottish village. The novel has been praised by Waterstones’ booksellers as “eye opening, heart-wrenching, sad [and] inspiring”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]
News tagged with: #waterstones children #book prize #publishing world #people didn #disabled characters #witch trials #eye opening #debut novel #children’s book

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World Literature Today Announces 2021 Student Translation Prize Winners

News and Events Mariah Rust and Xin Xu recently were named the recipients of the fourth annual translation prize for students sponsored by World Literature Today at the University of Oklahoma. Consistent with World Literature Today’s commitment to... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-05-20 16:07:11 UTC ]
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4 Pulitzer Prize Nonfiction Winners Not By White Men

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[ Book Riot | 2021-05-17 10:37:00 UTC ]
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The British Book Awards: 2021 Winners

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-05-13 22:30:42 UTC ]
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Fraser and Hindley win £10k Oscar's Book Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-11 04:12:57 UTC ]
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First winners of Comic Creators’ Prize revealed

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-10 07:19:14 UTC ]
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Joffe Books launches crime writing prize with Koomson and Yearwood

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-30 23:20:48 UTC ]
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UAE: Sheikh Zayed Book Award Names Its 2021 Winners

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-22 14:03:56 UTC ]
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L.A. Times Book Award Winners Announced

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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James McBride has won the inaugural Gotham Book Prize for literature that celebrates NYC.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-06 13:00:34 UTC ]
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Patel wins #Merky Books New Writers' Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-01 04:31:20 UTC ]
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8 of the Best Nonfiction Books About Girls Around the World

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[ Book Riot | 2021-03-30 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Scholar of World War II Homefront Wins American History Book Prize

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[ The New York Times | 2021-03-15 16:00:06 UTC ]
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Blue Peter Book Awards won by McNicoll, Barfield and Bradley

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-04 09:57:17 UTC ]
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Isabel Wilkerson, Jacob Soboroff, Akwaeke Emezi among L.A. Times Book Prize finalists

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-03-02 15:00:14 UTC ]
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National Book Tokens partners with Jhalak Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-01 00:58:20 UTC ]
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Black & White acquires first book from GBBO winner Peter Sawkins

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-25 00:03:12 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-12 02:31:35 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-11 05:20:34 UTC ]
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Jessica Au named inaugural winner of The Novel Prize

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German Book Prize Names Its 2021 Jury, Opens Submissions

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-02-09 15:02:11 UTC ]
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