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Nerds Heart YA Shortlist Announced

Darren — Sun, 23 May 2010 16:55:13 +0000

The short-list for this years nerds heart ya tournament, was released a few days ago. If you’re not sure what the tournament is all about then be sure to check out the tournament site to find out more. There’s some amazing looking books in there and I’m really looking forward to seeing which books make it through to the later rounds. (I’m judging in the 4th round).

Donut Days by Lara Zielin
Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill
Pure by Terra Elan McVoy
The World is Mine by Lyah B. LeFlore
Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Wanting More by Rukhsana Khan
Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda
Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia
Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera
Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger
Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Ben Alire-Saenz
The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli
A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliot
Medina Hill by Trilby Kent
Lost by Jacqueline Davies

In the Path of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith
Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt
Blessing’s Bead by Debby Dahl-Edwardson
The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison
Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee
In Mike We Trust by P E Ryan
Evil? by Timothy Carter
Beautiful by Amy Reed
Tilmon County Fire by Pamela Ehrenberg
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
Once You Go Back by Douglas A. Martin
Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Border Crossing by Jessica Lee-Anderson
Rowan the Strange- Julie Hearn

The Young City Announced

2010 CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist Announced

Darren — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:43:53 +0000

The shortlist for the 2010 Carnegie Medal, was announced earlier today. The eight books that form the final selection are listed below.

And not a vampire in sight, sparkly or otherwise!

To be eligible for the 2010 Awards titles must have been first published in the UK between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009 (or co-published elsewhere within three months.)

Anderson, Laurie Halse: Chains – Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9780747598077
Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book – Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9780747569015
Grant, Helen: The Vanishing Of Katharina Linden – Penguin, ISBN: 9780141325736
Hearn, Julie: Rowan The Strange – Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780192792150
Ness, Patrick: The Ask And The Answer – Walker, ISBN: 9781406310269
Pratchett, Terry: Nation – Doubleday, ISBN: 9780385613705
Reeve, Philip: Fever Crumb – Scholastic, ISBN: 9781407102429
Sedgwick, Marcus: Revolver – Orion, ISBN: 9781842551868

The winner will be announced in a ceremony on 24 June 2010.

Chair of this year’s CILIP Carnegie Judging Panel, Margaret Pemberton, had this to say.

“It’s interesting that the eight titles that really stood out for us buck the current trend for escapism and the paranormal in young adult fiction,”

“Their writers have been brave with their choice of subject matter and have confronted some very real issues, but the quality of the writing carries each and every story.

Whether the setting is a graveyard, another planet, a fantasy version of our own planet, the suburbs of a German town, a mental asylum or deep in the history of slavery, each offers a vivid and compelling narrative, whether for children of nine and over, or for young adults.”

And my word, what a list it is! I’ve read four of the books myself already (The Ask and the Answer, The Graveyard Book, Nation, and Revolver), and loved all of them, and would find it very difficult to make a choice between three of them, if you asked me to choose right now, never mind the potential in the other four books!

But, taking a leaf out of Rob’s book who is reading the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2010 Shortlist, (although with a slightly more sensible timescale!) I’ve decided I’m going to do just that, and I plan read the other four between now and when the award is announced, and let you know my thoughts on each of them, and in the end come up with the one I think should win!

It’s slightly in the planning stages at the moment – planning as in: while I’m writing this post! – but my thoughts are in the ten days so before the award I’ll post (or in the case of the ones I’ve already read and reviewed – repost) my reviews, and the day before I’ll sum up my thoughts. It’s possible this will change though! (if anyone wants to join in, I’d love to do a buddy review style summing up post! Just let me know if you’re interested)

The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children.

First awarded to Arthur Ransome for ‘Pigeon Post’, the winner receives a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

The medal is awarded by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

Find out more on the Award’s website. or the Award’s Criteria

What do you think to the shortlist? Who should win?

Short-list Announced for the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction

Darren — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:59:29 +0000

The shortlist for the 2010 Orange Prize for fiction was announced this morning. Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.

[If you want to read any of the nominated books yourself, click on the covers to take you to The Book Depository, where you can take advantage of their free worldwide delivery!]

Rosie Alison - The Very Thought of You – Alma Books
England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, 8-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which has been opened up to evacuees.
Barbara Kingsolver – The Lacuna – Faber and Faber
A story of a man’s search for safety of a man torn between the warm heart of Mexico and the cold embrace of 1950s McCarthyite America.
Attica Locke – Black Water Rising – Serpent’s Tail
Jay Porter, a struggling personal injury attorney down on his luck, suddenly finds himself in a situation spiralling out of control. Jay knows a boat ride on the Bayou won’t measure up to his wife’s expectations of a birthday celebration, but it’s all he can afford. Once a man of virtuous ideals, he is now just waiting for a break.
Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall – Fourth Estate
Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2009 ‘Lock Cromwell in a deep dungeon in the morning,’ says Thomas More, ‘and when you come back that night he’ll be sitting on a plush cushion eating larks’ tongues, and all the gaolers will owe him money.’
Lorrie Moore – A Gate at the Stairs – Faber and Faber
With America quietly gearing up for war in the Middle East, twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, a ‘half-Jewish’ farmer’s daughter from the plains of the Midwest, has come to university – escaping her provincial home to encounter the complex world of culture and politics.
Monique Roffey – The White Woman on the Green Bicycle – Simon and Schuster

The Orange Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible and is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman.

The winner will be presented with a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze statue known as ‘the Bessie’, created by artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.

Previous winners include:

Marilynne Robinson for Home (2009)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007)
Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2005)
Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002)
and Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996)

“The Orange Prize for Fiction has grown to become one of Britain’s most prestigious international literary awards”, commented Stuart Jackson, Communications Director of Orange. “The depth and variety revealed in this year’s shortlist reflects the range and calibre of women’s writing that the Orange Prize has championed since its inception fifteen years ago.”

This years prize will be announced in a ceremony at The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, on 9 June 2010, when all six nominated authors will be present.

For more information on the award and the shortlisted novels, visit: http://www.orangeprize.co.uk

Watch shortlist announcement for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010.

I’ve not had the opportunity to read any of the shortlisted books, if you have, let us know about your thoughts in the comments!

Poet Christopher Reid wins Costa Book Prize

Darren — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:36:23 +0000

At a ceremony in central London earlier tonight, poet Christopher Reid, beat off competition from Patrick Ness, Graham Farmelo, Raphael Selbourne and Colm Toibin etc to win the 2009 Costa Book Prize.

The judges described A Scattering as “intensely moving, compelling and honest”.

The collection of poetry, was written as a tribute to his late wife Lucinda Gane, who passed away in 2005.

On collecting his award, Reid thanked the judges and commented on the experience of writing the collection and winning the award.

“I am absolutely delighted and bewildered to be the recipient of this important literary prize.

“The book itself was difficult to write, but it has had a very happy time since it fell into the hands of my publisher.”

It will come as little surprise to many that I was rooting for Patrick Ness to win, and while he didn’t the judges did say that his trilogy A Chaos Walking of which The Ask and the Answer is the second book, is “a major achievement in the making”

Buy the Finalists From The Book Depository

Colm Toibin – Novel – Brooklyn | Christopher Reid – Poetry – A Scattering | Raphael Selbourne – First Novel Beauty | Graham Farmelo – Biography – The Strangest Man | Patrick Ness – Children’s – The Ask and the Answer

Have you read any of the finalists? What did you think of them?

Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize 2010 Shortlist Announced & Giveaway

Darren — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:02:05 +0000

The shortlist for the 2010 Waterstones Children’s Bookprize has been announced!

This is an annual award from the largest high street book store chain in the UK, and is given to a work of children’s literature published during the previous year.

The purpose of the prize is to uncover emerging talent in children’s writing and so is only open to authors who have published three books or less.

Previous winners include, Michelle Harrison and Sally Nicholls

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher	The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh	The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester	Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur	Desperate Measures by Laura Summers
The Seven Sorcerers by Caro King	The Toymaker by Jeremy De Quidt	The Toymaker by Jeremy De Quidt	The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies

Final judging is underway, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 10th February.

Have you read any of the books on the shortlist? What did you think? Talk about them in the comments!

But in the meantime a giveaway!

For my first giveaway in 2010 I am going to give a book of their choice from the shortlist to one of my readers!

Important: Entry is by the form below only, entries via the comments will not be counted.

I entry just by entering the giveaway.
2 extra entries for following me on twitter** and 2 for tweeting about the giveaway.
2 extra for becoming a fan on facebook!** and and 2 for mentioning the giveaway
2 extra entries for blogging about the giveaway. (leave me a comment with the link)
and finally 2 extra entries for subscribing to my feed via RSS or Email.

Giveaway is international. Contest is open until midnight GMT on Sunday 24th January 2010.

** If you already are doing so, be sure to mention it as that still counts!

See: Contest Policy

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Have you read any of the books on the shortlist? What did you think? Talk about them in the comments! If you haven’t read any of them, which one would you like to read the most?

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness wins the Costa Award for Children’s Fiction

Darren — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:10:55 +0000

Not content with being my favourite book of the year in 2009 *ahem* Patrick Ness has just announced on his site the the second book in The Chaos Walking Trilogy has been awarded the 2009 Costa Children’s Book Award! (Slightly more rewarding than my little acknowledgment I’m sure!)

I’m sure you’ve noticed but I’ve gushed plenty over this one (and the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go) so the news made me grin somewhat… Here’s what the judges had to say:

Judges: “From the first word, we were gripped by this dazzlingly-imagined, morally complex, compulsively-plotted tale. We are convinced that this is a major achievement in the making.”

To see the winners in the four other categories that will battle The Ask and the Answer for the overall title, head on over to the Awards Site.

YA Dystopian Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Darren — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:56:37 +0000

It doesn’t officially finish for a few more days, but I wanted to post this now, so it didn’t get lost in the big end of year round-ups

I don’t think I’m the first challenge host to find themselves not participating in their own challenges quite as much as they had planned… In fact I read just the one book The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, which would qualify for it! But I still had an absolute blast seeing everyone else take part and reading their reviews (a link to the reviews page will be at the bottom of this post).

I honestly didn’t expect many to sign-up, but in the end almost 40 people did just that! So many thanks everyone who did, and all those that spread the word about it. I hope to see you again next year!

YA Dystopian Reading Challenge Participants

1. Sara (The Hiding Spot)
2. Misty (Book Rat)
3. Heather (Capricious Reader)
4. Chris (Stuff as Dreams)
5. Trish (Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?)
6. Jenn’s Bookshelves
7. Becky (Becky’s Book Reviews)
8. Tricia (Library Queue)
9. Katrina (katrinasreads)
10. Ann (Books on the Nightstand)
11. The Brain Lair
12. Dominique (Coffee Stained Pages)
13. Nancy (Bookfoolery & Babble)
14. Amanda (The Zen Leaf)
15. Michelle (Galleysmith)
16. tanabata (In Spring it is the Dawn)
17. Beth F
18. Stephanie @ Confessions of a Book-a-Holic
19. Aly
20. raidergirl3

21. Joanne (The Book Zombie)
22. shanda
23. Corinne (Book Nest)
24. April (Books&Wine)
25. Cait (Escape Through the Pages)
26. Tia (Tia’s Book Musings)
27. Kathryn’s Book Nook
28. Bunny (bookosaurus rex)
29. Carrie K. (Books and Movies)
30. Stephanie (Reviews by Lola)
31. Louise
32. Amy Melniczenko (Melniczenko Musings)
33. Nany
34. Melissa
35. Dana’s Scrap Therapy
36. celi.a (Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia)
37. Velvet (vvb32 reads)
38. Laura @ Tattooed Books
39. Megan

Those who took part posted some great reviews, and I highly recommend you check out at least a few of them over on the reviews page:

dystopia_reviews_sidebar1.jpg" width="300" height="113" />
And if you haven’t already done so, then don’t forget to post your links, so everyone can find your reviews! (I’ll be closing the form in mid-Jan).

Upcoming Challenge: The TwentyTen Reading Challenge

Virtual Advent Tour Sign Ups are Go!

Darren — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:18:51 +0000

The 2009 Virtual Advent Tour website, went live earlier this morning, and you can sign-up to take part, right now!

Each day anyone who wants to participate takes turns sharing a treat with our friends here in blogland. For example it could be something about your family traditions, recipes, your country’s holiday traditions, or a favourite Christmas memory, movie, book, song…anything you like. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas we would like to hear about what your family does during the holiday season, whether it be celebrating Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or whatever it is that you do during this time.

There were some fantastic posts last year, so even if you don’t sign-up to take part, make sure you follow the blog, and everybody’s posts!

No related posts.

Man Booker Prize: Winner Announced!

Darren — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:47:55 +0000

Just before 10:00pm GMT this evening in a ceremony at the Guildhall in London, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was announced by Jim Naughtie as the winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize.

The Man Booker Prize 2009 – Shortlist Announced

Darren — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:27:37 +0000

Man Booker Prize, Chair of judges James Naughtie today announced the award’s shortlist, at a press conference held at the Man Group plc’s London headquarters.

The shortlist includes two former winners in AS Byatt and JM Coetzee, and in Sarah Waters a previously shortlisted author. Coetzee is one of only two authors to have one the prize twice (with Life & Times of Michael K in 1993 and Disgrace in 1999) could he win it a third time in 2009?

Chair James Naughtie, commented:

“We’re thrilled to be able to announce such a strong shortlist, so enticing that it will certainly give us a headache when we come to select the winner. The choice will be a difficult one. There is thundering narrative, great inventiveness, poetry and sharp human insight in abundance.

“These are six writers on the top of their form. They’ve given us great enjoyment already, and it’s a measure of our confidence in their books that all of us are looking forward to reading them yet again before we decide on the prizewinner. What more could we ask?”

So, who do you think will win?