winners Past
artist. The story is told in verse, and is illustrated by Anshika Khullar. Millwood Hargrave’s The Deathless Girls (Bellatrix) is a retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, focusing on twins Lil and Kizzy, who are snatched away from their travelling communit and forced to work as slaves— until they atract the atention of the mythical Dragon. The shortlist is completed by novels from Lauren James, Jenny Downham and William Sutcliffe. James makes her début on the YA Book Prize shortlist with The Quiet at the End of the World (Walker Books), set in a deterio- rating London aſter a devastating virus caused global infertilit; the two youngest people leſt in the world must decide how to save the human race. Downham and Sutcliffe both appear on the shortlist for a second time. Downham makes the list with Costa-shortlisted Furious Thing (David Fickling Books), which explores teenager Lexi’s struggle to contain her anger with the world, and her stepfather in particular. Sutcliffe’s The Giſted, the Talented and Me sees 15-year-old Sam uprooted from his ordinary life and enrolled into the North London Academy for the Giſted & Talented, where he must find a way to be himself.
Judging the award This year’s prize will be judged by the School Library Association’s 2017 School Librarian of the Year, Lucas Maxwell of Glenthorne High School in
Suton; author and inaugural Children’s Laureate for Wales, Eloise Williams; Stacey Croſt, blogger and brand and digital marketing manager at National Book Tokens; and body positivit campaigner and influencer Megan Crabbe. The judging panel will be joined again by teenage judges from schools across the country and Julia Eccleshare, children’s director of The Hay Festival, which is partnering with The Bookseller on the prize. The panel will be chaired by The Bookseller’s deput features editor Caroline Carpenter. Williams said: “I’m delighted
to have the opportunit to join in with celebrating the wealth and qualit of today’s YA fiction. The shortlist is so varied and interest- ing. It’s going to be a real treat. I can’t wait to delve into those pages!” Croſt hailed the “fantastic mix of genres” on the YA10 list for 2020, while Crabbe added: “It’s such an exciting time in YA fiction. There are more diverse voices and narratives being represented than ever before, and I’m so grateful to be part of something that shines a light on the great stories out there.” More details of the YA Book Prize shortlist and social media activit can be found at: thebook-
seller.com/ya-book-prize-2020. Details of plans for the YA Book Prize-winner’s announcement will be revealed in due course.
Pictured, clockwise from top left: Dean Atta, Malorie Blackman, Juno Dawson, Frances Hardinge, Lauren James, William Sutcliffe, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Holly Jackson, Jenny Downham, Holly Bourne
Furious Thing Jenny Downham
Pent-up Lexi determines to swallow her anger and finally make her
family proud. But push- ing fury down doesn’t make it disappear.
TheBookseller.com
Deeplight
Frances Hardinge On the Island of Lady’s Crave live 14-year-olds Hark and Jelt, scaven- gers diving for relics of the gods. But something dangerous lurks below.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Holly Jackson
Five years ago, school- girl Andie Bell was
murdered by Sal Singh. Or was she? Pippa Fitz- Amobi isn’t so sure.
The Quiet at the End of the World Lauren James
Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Can they save humanity?
The Deathless Girls
Kiran Millwood Hargrave Seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are brutally snatched one night, taken far from the travelling commu- nity they so love.
The Gifted, the
Talented and Me William Sutcliffe
Sam is forced to attend the North London Acad- emy for the Gifted &
Talented. Can he navi- gate the weirdness?
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