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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‘When Women Kill’ Wins the 2022 British Academy Book Prize

Commended for revealing 'attitudes to female homicides,' Alia Trabucco Zerán's work of research wins the British Academy's £25,000 award. The post ‘When Women Kill’ Wins the 2022 British Academy Book Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-10-27 02:56:02 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver and Geri Halliwell-Horner become the latest celebrities to announce children’s books

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[ The Guardian | 2022-10-21 10:05:05 UTC ]
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Cover reveal: Stephen Buoro’s The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 13:30:34 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s Children’s Book Deals for October 19, 2022

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Virago founder Carmen Callil was a powerhouse who changed the publishing world for the better

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[ The Guardian | 2022-10-18 15:06:43 UTC ]
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Padma Lakshmi will host this year’s National Book Awards.

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Tom Hanks announces ‘wildly ambitious’ first novel

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Review: The follow-up to Namwali Serpell's debut novel is less grand — and better for it

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The UK’s £25,000 Royal Society Science Book Prize Names Its 2022 Shortlist

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-27 08:47:37 UTC ]
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Recommended reading: Hilary Mantel’s review of Kate Atkinson’s debut novel.

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Book Riot’s Children’s Book Deals for September 14, 2022

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There’s No Place Like Grandma’s Abandoned Island

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Greenleaf: Stewards of Storytelling for 25 Years

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Book Deals: Week of September 12, 2022

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British Academy Book Prize Announces Its 2022 Shortlist

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