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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Hay Festival shares €50,000 Asturias Prize with Guadalajara Book Fair

Hay Festival and Mexico's Guadalajara Book Fair have been jointly awarded the 2020 Princess of Asturias Award for communication and humanities. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 19:05:34 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize Winner Named Editor in Sharon, New Castle

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-06-02 19:35:11 UTC ]
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The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens Submissions for 2021 Prize Cycle

Now in its 15th year of prizes, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award leadership is looking to surpass last year's record level of submissions. The post The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens Submissions for 2021 Prize Cycle appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-01 13:35:48 UTC ]
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Dawson's Meat Market wins the YA Book Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-27 20:01:44 UTC ]
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World Literature Today Announces 2020 Student Translation Prize Winners

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[ World Literature Today | 2020-05-18 13:29:17 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-16 09:44:41 UTC ]
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[ Writer's Digest | 2020-05-05 14:08:04 UTC ]
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2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-05-04 19:36:09 UTC ]
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Walker Books acquires 'wonderful' middle-grade novel about two autistic friends

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 21:36:57 UTC ]
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Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Revealed on Twitter

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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And the winner of the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize is…

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 22:00:41 UTC ]
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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-14 11:12:29 UTC ]
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The L.A. Times Book Prizes ceremony will be virtual, and free, this year

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-09 17:53:22 UTC ]
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The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Names 2020 Winners

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-08 15:22:38 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-08 05:29:50 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 14:35:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 22:04:36 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 18:44:12 UTC ]
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British Book Awards: Ceremony Postponed, Some Winners Announced

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-19 16:31:34 UTC ]
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