the structure of a romance but was about a friendship.” Judge Layla Hudson, who is director of inclusive bookshop Round Table Books in Brixton, said: “I’m over the Moon that Loveless has won the YA Book Prize this year. It has enabled so many aromantic/asexual readers to be seen within its pages, as well as being a book about the true meanings of friendship and the sometimes messy stage of going to universit and growing as a person. It’s a book that will certainly be cherished, and one that readers will read again and again.”
Loveless is a joyful book that truly promotes celebrating our differences. I enjoyed every moment I shared with the characters
Rachel Fox, YA Book Prize judge
Teenage judge Kei called the book “a wonderful portrayal of the various tpes of love through relatable characters and their experiences of self-discovery”, while fellow judge Rachel Fox, who is children and schools programme director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, added: “Loveless is a joyful book that truly promotes celebrating our differences. I enjoyed every moment I shared with the characters, and I am delighted that more readers will get to meet them too.” In addition to Fox and Hudson, this year’s
YA Book Prize-winner was selected by a panel comprising: journalist and author Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff; Will Hill, YA Book Prize-winning author and screenwriter; book YouTuber and social media producer Sanne
Vliegenthart; and The Bookseller’s deput features editor and YA Book Prize chair, Caroline Carpenter. The panel was joined by teenage judges from schools in London and Bradford. Carpenter said: “Congratulations to Alice
and Loveless. As well as shining a light on a topic that is rarely covered in fiction, I’ve no doubt that this book will resonate with all teenagers who are trying to find themselves. In my opinion, Alice is one of the most excit- ing young creatives working in the UK today and Loveless, with its important messages about self-acceptance and friendship, is a very worthy winner of this year’s prize.” Loveless was in the running for this year’s award against: Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (Litle Tiger); Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson (Electric Monkey); And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster Children’s); Eight Pieces of Silva by Lawrence (Hodder Children’s Books); The Great Godden by Rosoff (Bloomsbury); Melt My Heart by Bethany Ruter (Macmillan Children’s Books); Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury (Scholastic); Cane Warriors by Wheatle (Andersen Press); and A Snowfall of Silver by Laura Wood (Scholastic).
Highlighting success The YA Book Prize was launched by The Bookseller in 2014 to celebrate great books for teenagers and young adults from the UK and Ireland. It is run in partnership with Hay Festival. This year, the YA Book Prize also granted a Special Achievement Award to former Waterstones children’s laureate Malorie Blackman, to mark 20 years since the publication of the first novel in her Noughts & Crosses series. The book is a retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” set in an alternate realit where Black people (Crosses) are the ruling
class and white people (noughts) are under- privileged. Last year, it was adapted into a six-part television series, airing on BBC One. Oseman is an author-illustrator from
Kent. She has published four YA novels with HarperCollins Children’s, including her début Solitaire, which was released when she was 19, and I Was Born for This, which was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize in 2019. She is also the creator of LGBTQ+ YA romance webcomic Heartstopper, which is published as a graphic novel series by Hachete Children’s Books—the fourth volume will be published on 13th May. Oseman is currently taking a break from novel-writing to work on the next Heartstopper issue and write the script for the series’ upcoming eight-part Netflix live-action adaptation, which is being produced by See-Saw Films.
ALICE OSEMAN’S HEARTSTOPPER SERIES CONTINUES ON 13TH MAY
On 1st June, Oseman will be appearing in conversation with former Irish children’s laureate and YA Book Prize-winner Sarah Crossan as part of Hay Festival’s digital programme. Both Oseman’s and Blackman’s acceptance speeches are available to watch on the YA Book Prize website, at www.yabook-
prize.com.
On 1st June,Oseman will be ap i
i h f a pearing I i h hild ’
Eight Pieces of Silva Patrice Lawrence Hodder Children’s Books, 9781444954746, £7.99 When Becks’ mum and stepfather go away on honeymoon and her step- sister Silva disappears, she must follow eight clues in Silva’s bedroom to discover her secret life. Meanwhile, Silva is on a journey to make someone love her.
TheBookseller.com
The Great Godden Meg Rosoff Bloomsbury, 9781526618511, £12.99 Over one dreamy summer, a big messy family fills hot days with wine, games and wedding planning. Enter the Godden broth- ers: charming Kit and surly Hugo. Suddenly, there’s a serpent in this paradise and the consequences will be devastating.
Melt My Heart Bethany Rutter Macmillan Children’s Books, 9781529041163, £7.99 Lily is used to people paying attention to her gorgeous twin sister, until she meets Cal. But she can’t figure out why she isn’t as into him as she should be and is instead thinking about her best friend, Cassie.
Hold Back the Tide Melinda Salisbury Scholastic UK,
9781407180298, £7.99 Everyone in Alva’s lake- side community knows that her father killed her mother. She plans to leave as soon as possible, but when dark forces begin to stir, she must face a very different future and question everything about her past...
Cane Warriors Alex Wheatle Andersen Press,
9781783449873, £10.99 Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky’s War in Jamaica, 1760. Fourteen-year-old Moa spends endless hot days toiling in the sugar cane plantation, until one night he learns of an uprising led by the charismatic Tacky.
A Snowfall of Silver Laura Wood Scholastic UK,
9781407192413, £6.99 In autumn 1931, Freya runs away from home to follow her acting dream. When she is invited to join a theatre company’s tour, she finds a place to belong for the first time amid the glamour and bustle of stage life.
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