+++ Leeds Book Awards 2011 Winners Announced +++

The winners of the 2011 Leeds Book Awards were announced on Tuesday 24th May at 2 Awards Ceremonies at Leeds Civic Hall. They are:

• 9-11 Category: Mortlock by Jon Mayhew
• 11-14 Category: The Dead by David Gatward
• Breezereads 14-16 Category: Angel by L A Weatherly

500 young people from schools across Leeds came to the ceremonies, which were hosted by our fantastic Master of Ceremonies, Paul Sleem.

We would like to give a big thank you to all the authors who were there on the day to meet the young people, talk about their books and take part in a signing – Elen Caldecott, Jon Mayhew, Andrew Newbound, Christine and Christopher Russell, Teresa Flavin, David Gatward, Candy Gourlay, Chris Priestley, Laura Summers, Helen Grant, William Hussey and Paul Magrs. Many of them travelled a long way to be with us – from as far away as Glasgow, the West Country, the Isle of Wight and even Brussels! We are also very grateful for the support of all the publishers involved and to Micro Librarian for their sponsorship.

Many thanks to pupils from the following Primary schools who gave great presentations about the shortlisted books in the 9-11 Category:

Pudsey Primrose – Mortlock, Greenhill – How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini, Ryecroft – The Great Hamster Massacre, Hawksworth Wood – The Quest of the Warrior Sheep, Oulton – Demon Strike and Alwoodley – Time Train to the Blitz

Also, thanks to the following High Schools for looking after our guest authors for the 11-14 and 14-16 categories so well:

Otley Prince Henry, Allerton High, Roundhay, Boston Spa, Pudsey Grangefield, Morley Academy, Pudsey Crawshaw and Woodkirk

Jon Mayhew and David Gatward were there to receive their awards.

Jon said:

“My Dad was a Yorkshireman and I'm sure he'd have thought this the best award ever!”

David said:

“It was, to be frank, one of the greatest moments of my life and I'll never forget it.”

Unfortunately Lee Weatherly was unable able to attend but sent the following statement to be read out at the ceremony:

“I’m absolutely thrilled that Angel has won the 14-16 category, and wish I could be there today to say that in person, instead of as a sheet of A4 paper! But since the real me is currently in New York for the launch of Angel in the US, this will have to do. I’d like to say a huge thank you to the City of Leeds for having this award in the first place, and giving the message to its young people that reading is something of value. Thank you to all the teachers and librarians who care so deeply about reading and help promote it to young readers – my mother was a school librarian; you do an amazing job and the world needs more of you! But THANK YOU most of all to all the avid readers who read the shortlist and took the time to comment so passionately on the different titles. You guys ROCK. All of us who were shortlisted today can be very proud to have been included in such a special event, and you, the readers who we write our books for, are what makes it so special.

“So I’ll just say one more thing: Angel was the 31st book that I’ve had published, but it’s the one I love the most – so it means a lot to me to know that so many of you love it, too. Thank you for reading it, and thank you for caring about Alex and Willow’s journey. (And I’ve just delivered the sequel, Angel Fire, so the journey will soon be continuing!) In the meantime, remember…the only good angel is a dead angel. Thank you!”

Many many thanks to all the young people, teachers and librarians who took part in the Book Awards this year, especially everyone who took the time to post comments and reviews on the website. This year we received 900 reviews!

Help us to select next year’s shortlists!

We are always on the lookout for books to include for the next Leeds Book Awards, so if you’ve read anything in 2011 that you'd like to nominate for the Leeds Book Awards 2012 then we'd like to hear from you.

Nominations can be e-mailed to Debbie Moody – e-mail address on our contact page

Please remember to say which school you are from and who you are as well as which author/s and book/s you would like to nominate.

See you all next year at the Leeds Book Awards 2012!

+++ Leeds Book Awards 2010 Winners Announced +++

The winners of the 2010 Leeds Book Awards were revealed on Tuesday 25th May at 2 awards ceremonies at Leeds Civic Hall. They are:

• 9-11 category: Mondays are Murder by Tanya Landman
• 11-14 category: Malice by Chris Wooding
• Breezereads 14-16 category: Bang, Bang, You’re Dead by Narinder Dhami

The ceremonies were hosted by popular performance poet Craig Bradley in front of 500 young people from schools across Leeds.

A big thank you goes out to the authors who were there on the day to meet the young people, talk about their books and take part in a signing – Tanya Landman, Andy Stanton, Di Toft, Lucy Adlington, Damian Kelleher, Steve Voake, Sarah Rees Brennan, Lucy Christopher, Bali Rai and Rachel Ward

Many thanks to pupils from the following schools who gave presentations about the shortlisted books:

• Primary Schools
  Alwoodley, Beeston, Oulton, Pudsey Primrose Hill, St Margaret’s C of E and Woodlesford
• High Schools
  Benton Park, Boston Spa, Morley, Ossett, Otley Prince Henry, Pudsey Grangefield, Rodillion, Roundhay.

Tanya Landman was there to receive her award and admitted to having a "Kate Winslet moment" and feeling quite emotional.

Unfortunately neither Chris Wooding nor Narinder Dhami was able to attend but both sent statements to be read out at the ceremony:

Chris Wooding

"First and foremost I would like to say what an honour it is to be given this award. Malice is a very unusual book, so for it to be recognised in this way is fantastic.

Malice was a very different project to books I have written before. The juxtaposition of the graphic novel elements and the text proved both interesting and challenging to write. I hope it acts as a bridge between comic books and novels, to encourage readers of one to read the other. I’m very proud of this title, and its sequel, Havoc, so thank you for your support.

I’m sorry that I cannot be there to accept this award in person today, but please let me pass on my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who read Malice, and loved it as much as I did."

Narinder Dhami

"Thank you so much to all of you who voted for Bang Bang You're Dead to win the Leeds Book Award! I'm so excited and honoured to have won, but also feel very upset that I can't be with you because of illness. I hope you are all having a fantastic day, and maybe I will get to meet you all another year. Thank you once again."

Many many thanks to all the young people, teachers and librarians who took part in the Book Awards this year, especially everyone who took the time to post comments and reviews on the website.

We are always on the lookout for books to include for the next Leeds Book Awards, so if you’ve read anything in 2010 that you'd like to nominate for the Leeds Book Awards 2011 then we'd like to hear from you.

Nominations can be e-mailed to Debbie Moody – e-mail address on our contact page

Please remember to say which school you are from and who you are as well as which author/s and book/s you would like to nominate.

See you all next year at the Leeds Book Awards 2011!

+++ Leeds Book Awards 2009 Winners Announced +++

The winners of the 2009 Leeds Book awards have been announced!!

Yes, after weeks of anticipation the winners were revealed at awards ceremonies at Trinity and All Saints College, Horsforth on Tuesday 19th May.

The winners are:

• 9-11 category: Shadow Forest by Matt Haig
• 11-14 category: Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie
• Breezereads 14-16 category: Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Hundreds of pupils from local schools came along to help us celebrate all the shortlisted books, so a huge thank you to everyone from the following:

Primary Schools - Fieldhead Carr, St Nicholas, Cookridge, Greenhill, Chapel Allerton, Morley Victoria, Oulton, Blackgates, Hawksworth Wood, Austhorpe, Thorp Arch Lady Hastings, Stanningley, Cottingley, Alwoodley, Newlaithes, Sharper Lane, Ninelands, Pool, Beecroft

High Schools - City of Leeds, Primrose, Boston Spa, Ossett, Roundhay, Temple Moor, Otley Prince Henry, Parklands, Allerton Grange, Morley, St Mary’s Menston

Special thanks go to the schools who gave presentations on the shortlisted books:

Chapel Allerton, Alwoodley, Stanningley, Cookridge, Ninelands, Roundhay, St Mary’s Menston, Allerton Grange, Morley High, Temple Moor, City of Leeds, Boston Spa, Parklands, Otley Prince Henry

Also a big thank you to Craig Bradley who hosted the ceremonies, Denise Dowd and her family and all the authors who came along and helped to make the day a big success – Andy Briggs, Catherine Johnson, Sophie McKenzie, Marcus Sedgwick, MG Harris, Kevin Brooks, Tim Bowler and Pauline Francis.

• Winning author Sophie McKenzie was on hand to receive her award and meet lots of her fans.
• Unfortunately Matt Haig and Jenny Downham were unable to join us for the celebrations but they sent us the following statements:

Matt Haig

• "I am so, so pleased to have won this category and even happier that it means quite a few of you must have enjoyed Shadow Forest! It was a real honour to be even considered for the Leeds Book Awards because Leeds is one of my favourite cities in the world and where I went to university and lived for many years. I truly wanted to be there today but my wife has just given birth to a baby girl and I am knee deep in nappies. Thanks again, and keep reading!!"

Jenny Downham

• "A few weeks ago I heard that Before I Die had been nominated for the Leeds Book Awards. I was so very excited that young people in schools across Leeds would be reading, reviewing and voting for their favourite books, and that my book would be amongst them.
  
  Before I Die took nearly three years to write. It’s my first book and I wrote almost every day. No-one had heard of me or knew I was writing it, and all I ever hoped for was that one day it might be published and that my story would be heard.
  
  To have won my category in this prestigious award is amazing. It was such a strong shortlist and I’m deeply honoured.
  
  I'm sorry I can't be there today, but its the very same date that I had agreed to be a judge for a competition for debut children's novelists, and although I tried, the date absolutely couldn't be changed.
  
  I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating the joy of reading. Thank you so much to those who read the book, and to those who voted for it."

All the attending authors received certificates designed by local school children, so thank you to Eleanor and Sophie from Kippax North Primary, Georgia from Ninelands Primary, Alicia from Hawksworth Wood Primary, Alexandra from Talbot Primary and Ella from Roundhay High.

Leeds Book Awards 2010 - Have Your Say

We are always on the lookout for books to include for the next Leeds Book Awards, so if you read anything in 2009 that you'd like to nominate for the Leeds Book Awards 2010 then we'd like to hear from you.

Nominations can be e-mailed to us at one of the addresses on the contacts page.

Please remember to say which school you are from and who you are as well as which author/s and book/s you would like to nominate.

See you all next year at the Leeds Book Awards 2010!

+++ Breezereads Goes to the Movies +++

Breezereads is teaming up with Leeds Young People's Film Festival for two great events over the Easter holidays.

This year we have some great events lined up with Mark Morris, author of a new Hellboy graphic novel. Come along and meet him and watch one of the Hellboy films. Also, meet bestselling author Louise Rennison. Come along to a special screening of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and meet Louise to find out how a book changes from page to screen.

For the latest info on these events go to the film festival website: www.leedsyoungfilm.co.uk

Or check out Breezereads at www.breezeleeds.org/breezereads.ikml.

+++ Robert Muchamore Event +++

Robert Muchamore, author of the bestselling CHERUB books, will be in Leeds on the afternoon of Friday 13th February 2009.

He will be at the Carriageworks Theatre for a special free schools event for Year 7 and 8 pupils.

Robert will be talking about his new book, Escape. It's the first in a brand new series, Henderson's Boys, which follows the original CHERUB agents in WW2.

You could be some of the first people in the country to find out about Henderson's Boys!

For more information about the series, visit www.hendersonsboys.com.

If you would like to book free places, please contact Clare Mitchell or James Loosely at Waterstones: Tel: 244 4588

+++ Shortlisted Author Chris Higgins to visit Leeds +++

Chris Higgins, who is shortlisted for the 11-14 Award, will be appearing at Waterstones in Leeds on Tuesday 10th February at 2.00 pm for a free schools event.

If you would like to bring a group along to meet Chris, please contact either Clare Mitchell or James Loosely at Waterstones to make a booking (Tel. 244 4588).

+++ Leeds Book Awards 2008 Winners Announced +++

After much anticipation, the winning authors were revealed at Trinity and All Saints College, Horsforth.

• 9-11 category: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
• 11-14 category: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

250 young people from 21 of the participating schools came along to share their enthusiasm and meet some of the shortlisted authors - Jenny Valentine, Pauline Francis, Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, Rhiannon Lassiter, Cathy Cassidy and Kjartan Poskitt.

Poet Craig Bradley hosted the proceedings and kept everyone entertained while the tension built up towards the announcement of the winners.

Huge thanks to all 470 young people in the 15 high schools, 15 primary schools and library book groups who took part in the Awards by reading, discussing and voting on the shortlisted books.

Roll on Leeds Book Awards 2009!