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Longlist for the 2019 Branford Boase Award announced!

February 25th 2019

The longlist for the 2019 Branford Boase Award has been announced. This important award is celebrating its twentieth year. Set up in memory of author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children and has highlighted many of the twenty-first century’s leading children’s authors at the start of their careers. Over its twenty year history winners and shortlisted authors have included Siobhan Dowd, Meg Rosoff, Mal Peet, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Patrick Ness as well as Frances Hardinge and Philip Reeve. Uniquely, the Branford Boase Award also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.   The 2019 Branford Boase Award longlist includes:

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)

Boy Underwater by Adam Baron, edited by Nick Lake and Sarah Hughes (HarperCollins)

The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)

Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)

The Fandom by Anna Day, edited by Kesia Lupo (Chicken House)

Me Mam. Me Dad by Malcolm Duffy, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)

Twister by Juliette Forrest edited by Lauren Fortune (Scholastic)

Flight by Vanessa Harbour, edited by Janet Thomas (Firefly)

Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy, edited by Linas Alsenas (Scholastic)

The Goose Road by Rowena House, edited by Mara Bergman (Walker Books)

Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James, edited by Rachel Denwood and Sarah Hughes (HarperCollins)

The Mystery of the Colour Thief by Ewa Jozefkowicz, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)

I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan, edited by Lucy Pearse (Macmillan)

Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion Children’s Books)

On a Scale of One to Ten by Ceylan Scott edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House)

Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw, edited by Bella Pearson and Anthony Hinton (David Fickling Books)

Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton, edited Emma Matthewson (Hot Key)

Run Riot by Nikesh Shukla, edited by Emma Goldhawk (Hodder Children’s Books)

The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle by Victoria Williamson, edited by Jennie Skinner and Sally Polson (Floris Books)

  The shortlist for the Award will be announced on 1st May 2019 and the winner will be announced on 3rd July 2019. The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is also open.

For more information about the award, including a full list of past winners, and the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition visit www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk.