At 12-noon today the 2010 CILIP Carnegie Medal was awarded to Neil Gaiman for The Graveyard Book and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was awarded to illustrator Freya Blackwood for Harry & Hopper
A ‘double first’ for Neil Gaiman as he adds UK’s CILIP Carnegie Medal to the U.S. Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book
Early this afternoon Neil Gaiman accepted the most sought after prize for children’s fiction in the UK, the 2010 CILIP Carnegie Medal for The Graveyard Book.
The Graveyard Book has already won the 2009 Newbery Medal, the prestigious US equivalent of the Carnegie, making Neil Gaiman the first author to complete the ‘double’ being awarded both these internationally recognised prizes for children’s fiction for the same book ensuring his place in literary history.
The Graveyard Book also narrowly missed a ‘triple’ in 2010. Illustrated with evocative line drawings by Chris Riddell, it was also shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding illustration.
Asked what winning means to him, Neil Gaiman commented:
“For my seventh birthday I was given a boxed set of the Narnia Books by CS Lewis. The last of them, The Last Battle had the words ‘Winner of the Carnegie Medal’ on it. I did not know what the Carnegie Medal was, but I knew it was something important.
It was the first literary award I had ever heard of. And if the Narnia books had won it, then it had to be the most important literary award there ever was.
Somewhere deep inside me, but not too deep, a seven-year old version of me is amazed and delighted that he’s written a book that was given the most important literary award there ever was. And nothing you can say about Bookers or Nobels or Pulitzers will convince him otherwise.”
The Graveyard Book is the spooky reworking of Kipling’s The Jungle Book. The story opens with the violent murder of a toddler’s parents and sister that manages to be horrifying without mentioning a drop of blood. The two year old, having escaped his fate, finds himself in a graveyard. There he is adopted by its resident ghosts who bring him up and call him Bod, short for Nobody Owens.
“This is an extraordinary book in every way: the style, plot and quality of the writing,” says Margaret Pemberton, Chair of the CILIP judging panel. “With great skill Gaiman has created a gripping page turner, expertly supported by well developed characters, that is full of humour and humanity.”
Prize-winning illustrations are inspired by the memory of a beloved pet dog
Australian illustrator Freya Blackwood has won the 2010 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, the UK’s most prestigious children’s illustration award for Harry & Hopper (text by Margaret Wild). The book movingly portrays a young boy, Harry, coming to terms with the sudden death of his much-loved dog, Hopper.
Blackwood’s pictures for Harry & Hopper were partly inspired by one of her own childhood pets; Furlani, a beautiful grey whippet who met a similarly sad and sudden end.
Of this year’s winning book, Margaret Pemberton comments: “In Harry & Hopper, Freya Blackwood excels in her use of muted colour, perspective, and exterior and interior space to give a powerful take on the father-son relationship, and a much-loved pet’s death. A sensitive issue for young children is beautifully handled, with Harry’s emotions and memories of Hopper expressed visually to great effect.”
Before becoming a full-time illustrator, Blackwood lived in New Zealand where she worked on the set of the Lord of the Rings films, painting thousands of hobbit feet. She has now illustrated eleven picture books and currently lives in New South Wales, Australia with her four year old daughter, Ivy.
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. Since a 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.
Both medals are awarded annually by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. They are the country’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book awards. Since the Carnegie Medal was established in 1937 the judging panel of children’s librarians has recognised world class writers and frequently spotted fresh talent ahead of the market.
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For more about the Medals visit www.ckg.org.uk
Press contact:
Kasey Butler
Corporate Marketing Manager, CILIP
Email: kasey.butler@cilip.org.uk
Tel: 020 7255 0650