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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: ‘I never saw autistic girls in books’"

Lauren Oyler’s ‘Fake Accounts’ Captures the Relentlessness of Online Life

Oyler’s debut novel is about a smart, irascible narrator who is steeped in the concerns and tone of social media. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-26 21:16:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this

New presenters for children's book radio show and podcast Down the Rabbit Hole

Children’s book podcast and radio show "Down the Rabbit Hole" is starting 2021 with a new presenting and production team, including author Sam Sedgman, Scholastic's Hannah Love, Little Tiger's Charlie Morris and The Bookseller's Caroline Carpenter. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-26 02:08:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Blackman and Adeola collaborate on 'timeless' picture book

Malorie Blackman, author of the bestselling Noughts & Crosses series, and Dapo Adeola, illustrator of the Waterstones Book Prize winning picture book Look Up!, are collaborating on a picture book: We’re Going to Find the Monster. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-25 23:42:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Girl A: Abigail Dean on her shocking debut novel that's taking the book world by storm

Has this Google lawyer written the book of the year? The part-time author talks about the inspiration for her thriller about siblings who flee abusive parents and their ‘house of horror’Abigail Dean was about to turn 30 when she suddenly realised that her job as a lawyer was using up all the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-25 06:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this

This new indie bookstore categorizes books by emotion.

It’s rare to see Raven Leilani’s Luster next to Doctor De Soto, William Steig’s children’s book about a mouse that performs dental surgery—but this is par for the course at Oh Hello Again, Seattle’s newest bookshop. Oh Hello Again, rather than shelving books by genre and author, categorizes... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-22 16:19:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Umberto Eco tracking down a book in his massive library is your new competence porn.

The late Umberto Eco—professor, novelist, children’s book author—was a man of many talents. One of which, as seen in a video clip posted on Twitter by writer Ted Gioia, was quickly finding books in his famously massive personal library. I once got to meet Umberto Eco—who was very memorable. But... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-21 20:36:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘The Divines’: Featured Fiction from Ellie Eaton

An excerpt from a debut novel Booklist calls "sharp and haunting." The post ‘The Divines’: Featured Fiction from Ellie Eaton appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2021-01-19 17:00:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this

This gorgeous new children’s book celebrates Black Lives Matter

“As a graphic designer, we can play a role in standing up for something.” During the protests for racial justice this past summer and over the past few years, Black Lives Matter became a movement and rallying cry, a message of optimism and hope, and a simple statement of affirmation: the lives... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2021-01-19 08:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Let Us Be Negative Role Models for Each Other

For me, reading Torrey Peters’ debut novel Detransition, Baby is akin to listening to your favorite hometown band headlining their first stadium concert. You end up marveling over how experiences you thought you knew well are rendered in utterly unexpected ways, and realize how patterns from... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Watch the first trailer for the adaptation of Nico Walker’s Cherry.

Less than a month on from the movie poster controversy (Cherrk!) that rocked the internet to its very core, the first trailer for Cherry—the Tom Holland-starring film adaptation of Nico Walker’s 2018 semi-autobiographical debut novel about an Iraq War veteran turned drug addict turned bank... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-14 19:34:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Bell and NLT invite kids to join letter writing project

Usborne author PG Bell, creator of the children’s book series The Train to Impossible Places, has partnered with the National Literacy Trust and The Postal Museum on a letter writing project inviting children to share their experiences of the pandemic with future generations. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 22:56:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Fourth Estate picks up Goddard's 'exquisite' Hourglass

Fourth Estate has picked up Hourglass, the “exquisite” debut novel from Keiran Goddard. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 22:27:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Yusuf/Cat Stevens is turning his song “Peace Train” into a children’s book.

Some pleasant news! In honor of “Peace Train”s 50th anniversary, Yusuf/Cat Stevens has announced that the illustrated children’s book Peace Train, using the lyrics of the famous song, will be published May 11th via HarperCollins. It will be followed by a picture book adaptation of Stevens’ song... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-13 17:36:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Read Harder: A Children’s Book That Centers a Disabled Character But Not Their Disability

We've got books for the Read Harder task asking you to read a children’s book that centers a disabled character but not their disability. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-13 11:32:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Holliday Grainger to narrate Girl A audio

Holliday Grainger has been confirmed as the narrator of Girl A (HarperCollins), the hotly tipped debut novel by Abigail Dean. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 06:22:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Scholastic UK acquires book from Mangan siblings

Scholastic UK has acquired Escape the Rooms, the "dazzling" children’s book debut from actor Stephen Mangan, illustrated by his sister Anita Mangan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 03:30:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Duchess of York's debut novel scooped by Mills & Boon

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has penned her debut novel, a fictional account of her great-great aunt's life, to be published by Mills & Boon. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-12 22:12:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Lauren Ace and Jenny Løvlie | 'You can be kind and strong and good, but you don’t have to be exceptional'

"It's really special that, with a book about female friendship, we have genuinely become friends through doing it,” says Lauren Ace. She is talking about illustrator Jenny Løvlie, and the pair’s début picture book The Girls, which was published in 2018 and went on to win Illustrated Book of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-08 01:57:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this

A Black Salesman Tries to Bring Down Corporate Racism from the Inside

It’s no secret that the tech world has a troubling track record with diversity in the workplace, especially with the dearth of Black and Latinx employees in key roles. Author Mateo Askaripour confronts the lack of diversity within the workplace with satire in his debut novel Black Buck. Some... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-01-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this