Branford Boase Award

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Branford Boase Award
Awarded for	Writers award
Country	United Kingdom
First awarded	2000; 21 years ago (2000)
Website	branfordboaseaward.org.uk

The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist."^[1]

Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books, and Henrietta Branford worked together to produce a great number of books. Both Boase and Branford died in 1999 of cancer. The Branford Boase Award was created to celebrate and commemorate their names and memories and to encourage new talent in writing, which they worked for. The awards were a joint idea by Julia Eccleshare and Anne Marley who both had jobs to do with books.^[2]

The Branford Boase Award runs alongside the for young writers (under 19).^[2]

Winners receive a hand-crafted box with the Branford Boase Award logo and a cheque for £1,000. The prize and the official website are currently sponsored by the best-selling children's writer Jacqueline Wilson.^[3]

I have a special affection for this prize since I was invited to be the first Author Judge in 2000. Since then the prize has grown in stature with an incredible 57 titles submitted last year, reflecting a great enthusiasm for new writing amongst publishers and readers alike. It can be such a struggle for new writers starting out that I am thrilled to be able to offer this support to a prize which can make a real difference to their prospects.

Winners[]

Branford Boase Award winners^[4]

Year	Writer	Title	Editor	Publisher
2000	Katherine Roberts	Song Quest	Barry Cunningham	Chicken House Publishing
2001	Marcus Sedgwick	Floodland	Fiona Kennedy	Orion Books
2002	Sally Prue	Cold Tom	Liz Cross	Oxford
2003	Kevin Brooks	Martyn Pig	Barry Cunningham	Chicken House
2004	Mal Peet	Keeper	Paul Harrison	Walker Books
2005	Meg Rosoff	How I Live Now	Rebecca McNally	Puffin Books
2006	Frances Hardinge	Fly By Night	Ruth Alltimes	Macmillan Children's Books
2007	Siobhan Dowd	A Swift Pure Cry	David Fickling and Bella Pearson	David Fickling Books
2008	Jenny Downham	Before I Die	David Fickling	David Fickling
2009	B. R. Collins	The Traitor Game	Emma Matthewson	Bloomsbury Publishing
2010	Lucy Christopher	Stolen	Imogen Cooper	Chicken House Publishing
2011	Jason Wallace	Out of Shadows	Charlie Sheppard	Andersen Press
2012	Annabel Pitcher	My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece	Fiona Kennedy	Orion[5]
2013	Dave Shelton	A Boy and a Bear in a Boat	David Fickling	David Fickling
2014	C.J Flood	Infinite Sky	Venetia Gosling	Simon & Schuster
2015	Rosie Powell	Leopold Blue	Katie Thomas	Hot Key Books
2016	Horatio Clare	Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot	Penny Thomas
2017	M. G. Leonard	Beetle Boy	Barry Cunningham and Rachel Leyshon	Chicken House Publishing
2018	Mitch Johnson	Kick	Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker	Usborne Publishing
2019	Muhammad Khan	I Am Thunder	Lucy Pearse	Macmillan Children's Books

Shortlists[]

2000

• Dominic Barker – – Transworld
• – – Andersen Press
• – – Transworld
• – – Transworld
• – – Egmont
• Louise Rennison – Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging – Piccadilly
• Katherine Roberts – Song Quest – Chicken House

2001

• – – Hodder
• William Nicholson – The Wind Singer – Egmont
• – – OUP
• Marcus Sedgwick – Floodland – Orion

2002

• – – Bloomsbury
• – The Beat Goes On – Women's Press
• Sally Prue – Cold Tom – OUP
• Bali Rai – (Un)arranged Marriage – Corgi
• Philip Reeve – Mortal Engines – Scholastic

2003

• Julia Bell, Massive, Pan Macmillan
• Kevin Brooks – Martyn Pig – Chicken House
• Patricia Elliott – – Hodder
• – – Andersen
• Livi Michael – – Puffin
• Simon Mason – The Quigleys – David Fickling Books
• – Feather Boy – HarperCollins

2004

• Steve Augarde – The Various – David Fickling Books
• Graham Gardner – – Dolphin
• – Follow Me Down – OUP
• L. S. Matthews – – Hodder
• Mal Peet – Keeper – Walker
• Eleanor Updale – Montmorency – Scholastic

2005

• – – OUP
• Frank Cottrell Boyce – Millions – Macmillan
• Cathy Cassidy – Dizzy – Puffin Books
• John Dougherty – – Random House
• Michelle Paver – Wolf Brother – Orion
• Meg Rosoff – How I Live Now – Puffin
• Leslie Wilson – – Faber

2006

• Nicola Davies – – Walker
• Joshua Doder – A Dog Called Grk – Andersen Press
• Frances Hardinge – Fly By Night – Macmillan Children's Books
• Ann Kelley – – Luath Press
• Sarah Singleton – – Simon & Schuster
• Anthony McGowan – Hellbent – Doubleday
• – – Puffin

2007

• Linda Buckley-Archer – Gideon the Cutpurse – Simon & Schuster
• Siobhan Dowd – A Swift Pure Cry – David Fickling Books
• Charlie Fletcher – Stoneheart – Hodder
• Ally Kennen – Beast – Scholastic
• – – Short Books
• Andy Stanton – – Egmont
• Tabitha Suzuma – – Random House

2008

• – – Walker
• – – Macmillan
• – – Chicken House
• Jenny Downham – Before I Die – David Fickling Books
• – – Hodder
• Jenny Valentine – Finding Violet Park – HarperCollins

2009

• – – David Fickling Books
• – – Bloomsbury Publishing
• Sally Nicholls – Ways to Live Forever – Scholastic Press
• Patrick Ness – The Knife of Never Letting Go – Walker Books
• Katy Moran – – Walker Books
• Marie-Louise Jensen – Between Two Seas – Oxford University Press
• – (originally published as Reavers' Ransom) – Chicken House

2010

• – – Puffin
• Lucy Christopher – Stolen – Chicken House
• – – Piccadilly Press
• Anna Perera – – Puffin
• – – Five Leaves
• – – Chicken House
• Victor Watson – – Catnip

2011^[6]

• – – edited by , Hachette
• – – edited by , Frances Lincoln
• Candy Gourlay – – edited by , David Fickling Books
• – – edited by , Quercus
• Jason Wallace – Out of Shadows – edited by , Andersen Press
• – – edited by , Chicken House

2012

• – – edited by Annie Eaton and Natalie Doherty (Bodley Head)
• – – edited by Shannon Park (Puffin)
• Lissa Evans – – edited by Annie Eaton and Ruth Knowles (Bodley Head)
• – – edited by Charlie Sheppard (Andersen Press)
• – Sky Hawk – edited by Liz Cross (OUP)
• – – edited by Emma Matthewson (Bloomsbury)
• Annabel Pitcher – My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece – edited by Fiona Kennedy (Orion)

2013

• – – edited by Emma Young (Macmillan)
• Natasha Farrant – – edited by Julia Heydon-Wells (Faber)
• – – edited by Mara Bergman (Walker)
• Wendy Meddour – – edited by Janetta Otter-Barry (Frances Lincoln)
• & – – edited by Simon Mason (David Fickling)
• – – edited by David Fickling (David Fickling)
• – – edited by Sarah Odedina (Hot Key)

2014

• – – edited by Venetia Gosling (Simon & Schuster)
• – – edited by Rebecca McNally (Bloomsbury)
• – – edited by Mara Bergman and Lucy Early (Walker)
• – – edited by Emily Thomas (Hot Key)
• Ross Montgomery – – edited by Rebecca Lee and Susila Baybars (Faber)
• Fletcher Moss – – edited by Imogen Cooper and Barry Cunningham (Chicken House)
• Holly Smale – Geek Girl – edited by Lizzy Clifford (HarperCollins)

2015^[7]

• Sara Crowe, , edited by Charlie Sheppard and Eloise Wilson (Andersen Press)
• Clare Furniss, The Year of the Rat, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon and Schuster)
• Giancario Gemin, Cowgirl, edited by Kirstie Stansfield (Nosy Crow)
• Sally Green, Half Bad, edited by Ben Horslen (Puffin)
• Non Pratt, Trouble, edited by Annalie Grainger and Denise Johnstone-Burt (Walker Books)
• Rupert Wallis, The Dark Inside, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon and Schuster)

2016

• David Hofmeyr, Stone Rider, edited by Ben Horslen and Tig Wallace (Penguin Random House)
• Will Mabbitt,The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones, edited by Ben Horslen, illustrations by Ross Collins (Penguin Random House)
• David Solomons, My Brother is a Superhero, edited by Kirsty Stansfield (Nosy Crow)
• Ross Welford, Time Travelling with a Hamster, edited by Nick Lake (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
• Lisa Williamson, The Art of Being Normal, edited by Bella Pearson (David Fickling Books)

2017

• Peter Bunzi, Cogheart, edited by Rebecca Hill (Usborne)
• Amber Lee Dodd, We are Giants, edited by Niamh Mulvey, (Quercus)
• Sue Durrant, Little Bits of Sky, edited by Kirsty Stansfield (Nosy Crow)
• Stewart Foster, The Bubble Boy, edited by Rachel Mann (Simon and Shuster)
• Kiran Millwood Hargrave, The Girl of Ink and Stars, edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House)
• Martin Stewart, Riverkeep, edited by Shannon Cullen and Sharyn November (Penguin Random House)

2018

• Yaba Badoe, A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus: Zephyr)
• Sharon Cohen, The Starman and Me, edited by Sarah Lambert (Quercus Children’s Books)
• Chloe Daykin, Fish Boy, edited by Leah Thaxton (Faber)
• Elys Dolan, Knighthood for Beginners, edited by Clare Whitston and Elv Moody (Oxford)
• Tony Mitton, Potter’s Boy, edited by Anthony Hinton (David Fickling Books)
• Jacob Sager Weinstein, The City of Secret Rivers, edited by Gill Evans (Walker Books)

2019

• Sophie Anderson, The House with Chicken Legs, Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, Usborne
• P.G. Bell, The Train to Impossible Places, Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, Usborne
• Mel Darbon, Rosie Loves Jack, Sarah Stewart, Usborne
• Rowena House, The Goose Road, Mara Bergman, Walker Books
• Matt Killeen, Orphan Monster Spy, Sarah Stewart and Kendra Levin, Usbourne
• Onjali Q Raúf, The Boy at the Back of the Class, Lena McCauley, Orion Children’s Books

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Henrietta Branford – dedicated to the children's writer, deceased 1999