The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2017: Longlist Announcement
The Bath Children’s Novel Award is an annual international prize for emerging novelists.
During 2017 writers in 39 countries submitted 750 manuscripts. From these, 26 have been longlisted with an even split between novels written for middle grade (7-11 years) and young adult readers (12 years plus).
Amongst the contenders for this year’s £2,000 prize are writers from Australia, Grand Cayman, England, Ireland, Scotland and the USA.
Adventure, mystery and fantasy proved especially competitive genres within middle grade, with a notable rise tricksy villains and themes about drawing strength and wisdom from the past. Trends amongst young adult submissions included the centrality of family, the search for authenticity, and choosing your best path in a divided world.
For the next stage of the competition, our panel of Junior Judges, aged from six to seventeen years, will select a shortlist which will be announced January 5th 2018.
As all our judges read “blind” we’ll be keeping the longlisted writers’ identities under wraps until the overall winner, as chosen by SALLYANNE SWEENEY is announced February 8th 2018.
In the meantime, huge congratulations to the writers of these 26 standout titles:
| Agatha Brown and the Witchfinder General |
| Elsetime |
| Fig Swims Round the World |
| Hattie: or, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile |
| Illegal is not a Noun |
| Jack Dark and the Figment Hunters |
| Me Two |
| Milton Hits the Headlines |
| Psigns |
| Sixteen Again |
| Storm House |
| The Agency’s Last Case |
| The Badly Born |
| The Boy Inside my Head |
| The Case in Locker 62 |
| The Curse of the Weird Wolf |
| The Darlington Miracles |
| The Door in the Dark |
| The Firestone of Avisriel |
| The Ivory Rite |
| The Legend of Star Arrow |
| The Reinvention of Rolo Rawlings |
| The Vessel |
| The Waggledancing Dragon |
| Voxmort: The Stone of Death |
| What was Left Behind |
Congratulations to you all!
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