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 ]
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And the winner of the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize is…

The Aspen Institute has just announced the winner of their 2020 Literary Prize: Christy Lefteri, for her novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, which tells the story of Syrian refugees in Great Britain. The Aspen Words Literary Prize was established to celebrate a work of fiction that spotlights a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 22:00:41 UTC ]
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Sheikh Zayed Book Award Sets Winners’ Digital Ceremony for Thursday

The 14th Sheikh Zayed Book Award will stream a live digital event from Abu Dhabi on April 16 in honor of its 2020 winners. The post Sheikh Zayed Book Award Sets Winners’ Digital Ceremony for Thursday appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ 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

Winners of the L.A. Times Book Prizes will be announced in a special, virtual Twitter ceremony this year because of the global health crisis. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

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

Writers from Tunisia, Palestine, Iraq, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States are among those honored today by the world's most lucrative awards program for Arabic literature. The post The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Names 2020 Winners appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-08 15:22:38 UTC ]
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Winners of the 2020 Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced

The winners of the lucrative 2020 Sheikh Zayed Book Award have been announced, with literary UK Banipal Magazine winning the publishing and technology category.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-08 05:29:50 UTC ]
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First #Merky Books novel makes Desmond Elliott Prize longlist

The first novel to be published by Stormzy’s new imprint #Merky Books, That Reminds Me by poet and podcaster Derek Owusu, has been longlisted for the £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize for debuts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 14:35:00 UTC ]
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Jackson, Blackman and Hardinge in the running for YA Book Prize 2020

Début author Holly Jackson is up against heavyweight names, including Malorie Blackman and Frances Hardinge, on the shortlist for the YA Book Prize 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 22:04:36 UTC ]
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YA Book Prize 2020 judges revealed

Body positivity campaigner and influencer Megan Crabbe and the inaugural Children’s Laureate Wales, Eloise Williams, are among the judges for the 2020 YA Book Prize, which reveals its shortlist later today (Thursday 26th March).   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 18:44:12 UTC ]
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British Book Awards: Ceremony Postponed, Some Winners Announced

The British Book Awards, while announcing a coronavirus postponement, name some winners and shortlistees in two categories. The post British Book Awards: Ceremony Postponed, Some Winners Announced appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-19 16:31:34 UTC ]
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Li and Kapil among winners of Windham-Campbell Prizes

Yiyun Li and Bhanu Kapil are among the writers to receive a $165,000 Windham-Campbell Prize this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-19 10:41:56 UTC ]
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British Book Awards Small Press winners revealed

The nine winners of the regional and country round of the British Book Awards Small Press of the Year accolade have been revealed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 11:49:39 UTC ]
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Rick Atkinson Wins American History Book Prize

The award from the New-York Historical Society honors the first installment of his planned trilogy about the American Revolution, which emphasizes the conflict’s costs and uncertainties. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-03-17 12:00:06 UTC ]
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London Book Fair Announces Its 2020 International Excellence Award Winners

Awards this year go to winners in India, New Zealand, Kenya, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Indonesia, Finland, Italy, the UK, and USA. The post London Book Fair Announces Its 2020 International Excellence Award Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-11 10:32:51 UTC ]
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London Book Fair award winners revealed

The winners of the London Book Fair Awards 2020 have been revealed with the LBF International Excellence Awards, CAMEOs and UK Book Blog Awards all taking place online after the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-11 02:01:11 UTC ]
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Harry Potter named favourite Blue Peter Book Award winner of last 20 years

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Bloomsbury) has been voted viewers’ favourite Blue Peter Book Award winner of the last 20 years, while Amanda Li’s Rise Up (Buster) and Vashti Hardy’s Wildspark (Scholastic) have also won prizes. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 02:44:21 UTC ]
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Anna Burns’s ‘Little Constructions’ is just as twisting and tragicomic as her Booker Prize winner ‘Milkman’

The author’s second novel, finally getting published in the United States, was first released in the United Kingdom in 2007. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-02 20:00:31 UTC ]
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The L.A. Times announces its 2019 Book Prize finalists and a new award for science fiction.

It’s an exciting year for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes! This will be its 40th year of celebrating the literary community. The Times announced their 2019 Book Prize finalists today; the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 17th. Additionally, bestselling crime... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 17:41:26 UTC ]
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Ronan Farrow, Emily Bazelon and Colson Whitehead among L.A. Times Book Prize finalists

The 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes honor crime novelist Walter Mosley for lifetime achievement. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-19 14:00:25 UTC ]
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Roxane Gay’s favorite book of 2019 was Girl, Woman, Other.

From the fog of a so-far-extremely-cursed 2020, do you even remember 2019 anymore? The albino panda? 30 to 50 feral hogs? The US women’s national soccer team at the World Cup? What else even happened? Roxane Gay is here to remind us with this recap, which also lists her favorite books of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-06 16:40:23 UTC ]
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Dermot O'Leary joins Oscar's Book Prize judging panel

TV presenter and children's author Dermot O'Leary will join Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon and children's book consultant Jake Hope on the judging panel of Oscar’s Book Prize for 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-13 06:24:18 UTC ]
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