I’m very excited to have been invited to review The Branford Boase Awards Shortlist 2016.

“The Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children. Uniquely, it also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent. Now in its sixteenth year the Branford Boase Award is recognised as one of the most important awards in children’s books with a hugely impressive record in identifying authors with special talent at the start of their careers. Meg Rosoff who has just been awarded the world’s biggest children’s book prize, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, won in 2005 with How I Live Now, while Frances Hardinge, who this year won the Costa Book of the Year Award with her children’s novel The Lie Tree, was named Branford Boase Award winner exactly ten years ago.”

The 2016 Shortlist is full of fantastic fiction and I’m a little relieved I don’t have to pick the winner – it’s going to be a tough decision. I’ll be posting reviews on the Bookshelf over the coming weeks. The winners will be announced on Thursday 7th July at a ceremony in London.