Tir na n-Og winners announced
THE winners of the 2024 Tir na n-Og Awards for the best books for children and young people in Wales, organised by the Books Council of Wales and sponsored by CILIP Cymru Wales, were announced in May. In the Welsh-speaking category, Daf James’ Jac a’r Angel, illustrated by Bethan Mai (Y Lolfa), won the primary age award while Astronot yn yr Atig by Megan Angharad Hunter (Y Lolfa) won the secondary. Lesley Parr won the English-language Award with Where the River Takes Us (Bloomsbury). Daf James, whose book is a ‘coming of age’ story set during Christ-
mas, said: “so many of the authors I enjoyed had won the award… It’s a really important award that celebrates and draws much-deserved attention to books for children and young people, and being able to join the list of my childhood heroes is a dream come true for me.” Megan Angharad Hunter, who’s hero, Rosie, has a spaceship land
in her garden, said: “A novel like Astronot yn yr Atig would have been a big comfort to me when I was in school and so I hope it will be a comfort to children in Wales today as well, while taking them on an exciting and imaginative journey through space!” Lesley Parr, whose pacy 1970s adventure is set in a Welsh valley,
Tia Fisher.
said she was “over the moon” adding “I love to write about my kind of Wales; ordinary people doing extraordinary things against a back- drop of working-class Welshness. To receive an accolade at this level – and from my own country – is a very special thing.” The awards also have a shadower category, with a Readers’ Choice Award for the Welsh Language in the primary age going to Mari a Mrs Cloch by Caryl Lewis, illustrated by Valériane Leblond (Y Lolfa), and in the secondary category the Readers’ Choice Award went to Sêr y Nos yn Gwenu by Casia Wiliam (Y Lolfa). Lesley Parr’s Where the River Takes Us also won the English-language Readers’ Choice Award.
particularly special.”
Commenting on his love of libraries he said of his marathon: “The one thing that has been consistent between all libraries has been the passion, skill and creativity of the librarians… I feel completely honoured that it is librarians who have deemed The Boy Lost in the Maze as worthy of a Carnegie medal and will forever be grateful to the team at Otter-Barry Books, illustrator Kate Milner and my agent Caroline Sheldon for helping me bring this story to bookshelves and into the hands of readers.” Aaron Becker, who is also the best selling American author and illustrator of the wordless picture book trilogy Journey, said winning the Carnegie Medal for Illustration was “an honour and a testament to the power of wordless books” adding: “My hope is that winning this award promotes the idea that books can be for anyone, even the reluctant readers among us for whom story resonates more deeply through imagery than words.” He said: “I invite readers to slow down and interpret sto- ries on their own terms. Children and adults alike can project themselves onto the characters within my stories and find their own meaning and discoveries within the details of each spread, free of a narrator to dictate their pace and thoughts.” The winners receive a specially commissioned golden medal and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize. The winners of the Shadowers’ Choice Medals also receive a golden medal and, for the first time this year, £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice. Yoto, the innovative, screen-free audio platform for children, is the headline sponsor of the Awards. The Yoto Carnegies are also sponsored by ALCS. Scholastic are the official book supplier and First News are the official media partner.
June 2024 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 11
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