I’ve said before how I’d long dreamed of winning the Carnegie medal. And with that bizarre optimism of youth, I kinda thought I would. As I’ve said, I’ve published 40 something books now, most for young people, and for each of the first few I wrote a little Carnegie acceptance speech in my head. Gracious and simple to begin with, but as each one entirely failed to even be nominated, they became increasingly baroque. One took the form of an interpretive dance. Another was a country and western song; another a ballad opera in the style of Bertolt Brecht. Launched in 2013, Inclusive Mindsis a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature and arecommitted to changingthe face of children’s books.Inclusive Minds and their Ambassador Network are lending their expertise and experience to the 2020 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards. Australian author and illustrator Tan, who is of Australian, Chinese and Malay heritage, is the first illustrator of colour to win the Kate Greenaway Medal. Tales from the Inner City is a sister volume to Tan’s 2008 anthology, Tales from Outer Suburbia. He has worked as a theatre designer, a concept artist for animated films including Pixar’s WALL-E and directed the Academy Award-winning short film, The Lost Thing in 2011. In the same year, Tan received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, honouring his contribution to international children’s literature.

He turned to writing books for a teenage audience and soon found success. He rewrote his first, unpublished book, Abandon Hope, to make it appropriate for teens by taking out some of the more explicit parts and re-titled it Hellbent. [7] The comical tale of a teenager who has died and gone to Hell was published in 2005 by Random House and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. [9] The Times described it as "dazzlingly clever and disgustingly funny." [10] In 2011, it was announced that McGowan had been contracted to write four books that would revive the classic children's wildlife adventure series penned between 1949 and 1980 by the late Willard Price. [25] The books were published between 2012 and 2014. Crace, John (1 November 2019). "Another hung parliament unable to solve Brexit? Top banter | John Crace". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 January 2020.Winner of the prestigious Cilip Carnegie Medal for 2020, Lark is the fourth in a series of books about the love between two brothers and their survival in a life of modern poverty and struggle.

Peet, Mal (18 November 2006). "Review: Henry Tumour by Anthony McGowan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 23 June 2019. So I’d also like to thank all the brilliant team at Barrington Stoke, my fantastic publisher. There’s Ailsa Bathgate, my great editor. She’s worked on two of my books now, one shortlisted for the Carnegie and one that’s won it – given that I’d failed 40 times before she took charge of me, you can see who’s really responsible! And most of all, there’s Jane Walker, who’s been a much-loved friend for all my time at Barrington Stoke. It was Jane’s tears during a Zoom meeting that first alerted me to the fact that I might have some good Carnegie news … McGowan … freights every word with truth and feeling … Few other writers for the young better understand the pull of the gang and the fear of the bully” The Times a b c d Sanderson, Caroline (November 2013). "Authorgraph interview 203: Anthony McGowan". Books for Keeps. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014 . Retrieved 20 June 2019.

About Anthony McGowan

Before turning to writing full-time, he worked as a nightclub bouncer, a journalist and a civil servant. [6] Writing career [ edit ] Adult fiction [ edit ]

the mad ecstatic music of the lark [...] the small bird straining upwards [...] all effort, as if hauling itself up by sheer will -- a wanting, a yearning."Shaun Tan grew up in Perth and works as an artist, writer and filmmaker in Melbourne, best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through dream-like imagery. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, a concept artist for Pixar and won an Academy Award for the short animated film The Lost Thing. On winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal,Anthony McGowan said: “Every writer for young people dreams of winning the Carnegie Medal. Its incredible history, the rollcall of the great writers who have won it and the rigour of the selection process, makes this the greatest book prize in the world. It is also a magnificent way of connecting with readers. The hundreds of shadowing groups in schools and libraries around the country provide that one thing that writers cannot do without: a living, arguing, debating, biscuit-munching population of brilliant readers! On a third level it is a story about the way we interact with the natural world, how the sublimities of nature are a source of wonder and joy, but also, at times, peril … McGowan was the second of five children born into a working-class Roman Catholic family in Manchester. His parents were both nurses and his family moved to the village of Sherburn in Elmet, outside Leeds, when he was a small child. He has said that he read primarily non-fiction nature books when he was young, but when he was nine, a teacher gave him JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: "I don’t think I’d ever read a novel before, not even an Enid Blyton. It took me several years to finish reading it, but afterwards, I’d become a different kind of person; one who read novels and might one day write one." [2] Julia Hale, chair of CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals judging panel, commented: "During challenging times, librarians believe books for children and young people are more important than ever. The best books provide adventure, solace, inspiration, comfort, escape, rich experiences and sheer enjoyment; they are a port in a storm, a reflective mirror and an entry to new worlds. In an unprecedented year for all of us, we are delighted to reveal the two extraordinary winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals that highlight our connection and codependency with the natural world.

I won't expand on the plot any more for fear of spoiling Lark for new readers, but I will add that I was extremely moved by the last few chapters. And if they don't affect you then the epilogue surely will. Anthony McGowan has scooped the CILIP Carnegie Medal with his masterpiece, Lark. We take a look at the winning book and the three accompanying titles in his Truth of Things series. And there’s also Kirstin Lamb, my tireless publicist, who worked her fingers to the bone trying to winkle a little media attention for my poor books. The plot, such as it is, concerns a trip onto the moors near where the brothers live in Yorkshire: real Wuthering Heights territory. McGowan’s sparse prose ideally suits the landscapes he describes. McGowan said: "Every writer for young people dreams of winning the Carnegie Medal. Its incredible history, the rollcall of the great writers who have won it and the rigour of the selection process, makes this the greatest book prize in the world. It is also a magnificent way of connecting with readers. The hundreds of shadowing groups in schools and libraries around the country provide that one thing that writers cannot do without: a living, arguing, debating, biscuit-munching population of brilliant readers!

Read the first chapter

Today (Wednesday 17 th June 2020), the winners of the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, are revealed. Hahn, Daniel (20 March 2015). "The eight best young adult books – and why grownups should read them, too". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 23 June 2019. This series aimed at 12+ readers, is published by Barrington Stoke, a specialist publisher of books for dyslexic and reluctant readers. Winning the Carnegie Medal has been a great achievement for this independent publisher and you can read more about their pride at this laudable win here.For more great titles for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers visit our special Dyslexia Friendly book selection.