The shortlist for the 23rd CBI Book of the Year Awards was announced today. Warmest congratulations to the authors and illustrators of each of these ten wonderful books that showcase the best of writing and illustration for children in Ireland. Each of the titles will compete for six awards, which includes the innovative ‘Children’s Choice Award’ voted for by ten junior juries located across the country. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 8th.
Founded in 1990, The CBI Book of the Year Awards are the leading children’s book awards in Ireland. They are a celebration of excellence in children’s literature and illustration. They are open to picture books and novels written in English or Irish by authors and illustrators born or resident in Ireland and published between 1st January and 31st December each year.
Pádraic Whyte, chair of the judging panel that read more than 80 titles, said: “The ten books on this year’s shortlist offer children and young people from a broad age group rich and satisfying reading experiences. Many of the books engage with difficult contemporary issues while others are stories of whimsy and fun. This is a wonderfully diverse shortlist that highlights the literary and artistic excellence of current Irish Children’s Literature.”
CBI who administers the awards, will again be working closely with reading groups from schools and libraries across Ireland. Ten specially selected junior juries will choose the winner of the Children’s Choice Award. Five other awards will be made in May also – The Book of the Year Award, The Eilís Dillon Award for a first time author or illustrator, Honour Awards for Fiction and Illustration as well as a Judge’s Special Award.
Mags Walsh, Director at CBI said “Sharing excellent books with young readers is a great pleasure and this year we have ten books which we know will resonate with readers both young and old. Irish authors and illustrators rank among the best in the world so we are very proud to announce our shortlist today.”
This year illustrator Steve Simpson has two books on the shortlist, Na Laochra is Lú written by Laoise Ní Cleirigh and Mise agus an Dragún written by Patricia Forde. Two of the shortlistees are debut authors, Sarah Crossan for her book The Weight of Water and Laoise Ní Cléirigh for Na Laochra is Lú. Half of the books on the shortlist were penned by previous award winners John Boyne, Siobhán Parkinson, Marie Louise Fitzpatrick, Chris Haughton and Oliver Jeffers.
The shortlisted titles are:
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan
Hóng by Anna Heussaff
Na Laochra is Lú by Laoise Ní Cléirigh and illustrated by Steve Simpson
Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland by Siobhán Parkinson and illustrated by Olwyn Whelan
Mise agus an Dragún by Patricia Forde and illustrated by Steve Simpson
Dark Warning by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick
Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers
Grounded by Sheena Wilkinson