Winners of the 2008 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals announced
At 12 noon today Michael Portillo presented the prestigious 2008 CILIP Carnegie Medal to Philip Reeve for ‘Here Lies Arthur’ and 2008 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal to Emily Gravett for ‘Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears’.
‘Here Lies Arthur’ is a fresh, bold retelling of the Arthurian legend. Reeve’s fascination with the legends of Arthur began with John Boorman’s film ‘Excalibur’. As a teenager he found out all he could about the myth through the various retellings and portrayals that punctuate our culture and history. It became the novel he was determined to write, however, it took over 20 years before he decided how to tackle it.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” says Reeve, “but as I got over the shock and it began to sink in, I felt totally honoured. It is very special to win the CILIP Carnegie Medal. It has such a history and I admire so many past winners’ work it is quite humbling to be ranked alongside them.”
Reeve already has three major book prizes to his credit. In 2001 his first novel ‘Mortal Engines’ was an instant success winning both the Nestle Smarties Gold Award (2002) and the Blue Peter Book of the Year (2003). ‘Mortal Engines’ was the first of his Hungry Cities quartet the last of which, ‘A Darkling Plain’, won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2006.
“‘Here Lies Arthur’ is an outstanding book, and deserving winner,” says Tricia Adams, Chair of the 12 strong librarian judging panel. “Reeve’s is a consistent story-telling voice that brings us a subtle and credible retelling of the King Arthur myth. It is both a page turning adventure story and a clever historical novel. It also has clear political resonance for our times, demonstrating humanity’s need to sustain hope and optimism, and our tendency to favour myth over reality to achieve that end.”
For the second time in three years, illustrator Emily Gravett has won the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, the UK’s most prestigious award for children’s book illustration.
Gravett, whose debut picture book, ‘Wolves’ won the 2005 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal wins the 2008 award for her fourth book, ‘Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears’, in which a small rodent confronts terrifying phobias, but eventually (and after much nervous nibbling) feels better when he realises that even human beings can be cowardy custards too.
Emily, a former traveller, spent eight years on the road after leaving school at 16 with almost no formal qualifications. She graduated from Brighton University’s Illustration degree course in 2004, and her career as a picture book illustrator took off immediately when she won the 2004 Macmillan Prize for Illustration for ‘Wolves’. A publishing deal swiftly followed, along with enormous critical acclaim.
Of this year’s winning book, Tricia Adams, Chair of the CILIP Kate Greenaway judging panel comments: “Every time you read ‘Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears’ you discover something new: there’s so much going on, so much to explore. The attention to detail is astounding. It’s such a satisfying experience which incorporates smell, texture, humour and great imagination. The die-cut holes, and pull-out map are wonderfully novel features, but it’s much more than just a novelty book: everything has a purpose and nothing is wasted. A book that not only works with lots of different age-groups, but also one that can be read, and re-read, and re-read again.”
The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards are the UK’s oldest and most prestigious awards for writing and illustration for young people.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2007. Over the last seven decades it has come to be regarded as the arbiter of quality in writing for children and young people. Since 1937, the children’s librarians who annually select the short list and winning title, have recognised world class writers and frequently spotted fresh talent ahead of the market. Philip Reeve joins the list of past Medal winners that includes many of the greats of 20th and 21st century children’s literature: Eleanor Farjeon, Anne Fine, Elizabeth Goudge, CS Lewis, Mary Norton, Noel Streatfeild, Philip Pullman and David Almond to name a few.
Writers often describe the Carnegie as ‘the one they want to win’. Although there is no cash reward, it is thought of as the most prestigious acknowledgement of writing due to its unique judging process. Most of today’s literary and book awards seek submissions from publishers and votes from the public. Not the CILIP Carnegie: the Medal’s selection process is rooted in the professional expertise of librarians across the country who nominate titles for the long list. A panel of 12 children’s librarian judges from the Youth Libraries Group then selects the shortlist of up to eight titles and finally the winner.
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, established in 1956 and named in honour of the distinguished illustrator is awarded for ‘outstanding illustration in a children’s book’. Sister award to the CILIP Carnegie Medal, it is judged by an expert panel of children’s librarians from the Youth Libraries Group (YLG), and follows the same unique process of nomination, and judging. Since the bequest left in 2000 by children’s book and illustration collector, Colin Mears, the winner receives a cheque for £5,000 in addition to the coveted medal. Distinguished former winners of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007, include Shirley Hughes, Raymond Briggs and Quentin Blake.
For more information about the awards and the winners visit: www.ckg.org.uk/2008awards
For more press releases visit: www.ckg.org.uk/pressdesk
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Press contact:
Mark Taylor, Marketing Manager
Tel: 020 7255 0654
Email: mark.taylor@cilip.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. CILIP Carnegie Kate Greenaway Shadowing Scheme
Over 3,400 reading groups in schools and public libraries have registered to take part in the shadowing scheme for the awards, involving nearly 90,000 children and young people. For further information visit www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing. The CKG website is sponsored by The Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS).
2. About CILIP
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. It forms a community of around 36,000 people engaged in library and information work, of whom around 21,000 are CILIP Members and around 15,000 are regular customers of CILIP Enterprises. CILIP members work in all sectors, including business and industry, science and technology, further and higher education, schools, local and central government, the health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries. For more information about CILIP go to www.cilip.org.uk
3. The YLG
The Youth Libraries Group (YLG) is a Special Interest Group of CILIP. It works in a ‘pressure group’ role, independently and with other professional organisations, to preserve and influence the provision of quality literature and library services for children and young people, both in public libraries and school library services. www.cilip.org.uk/ylg
4. The Authors’ Licensing Collecting Society (ALCS)
ALCS first worked in partnership with CILIP in 2007 supporting the Medals’ shadowing scheme and has now undertaken a three year sponsorship package with CILIP, 2008 – 2010. ALCS exists to promote and protect authors’ rights and to ensure they receive fair remuneration when their work is re-used. One of ALCS’s key objectives is to support consumers in understanding the benefit of copyright. As part of this they are working closely with a number of organisations and agencies involved in education and literacy to engage those in full time education with the issue. For more information on ALCS see www.alcs.co.uk or call 020 7264 5700.
Updated: 23 July 2008