16/03/2017 - Permalink

Shropshire Teenage Book Award presentation ceremony on 21 March 2017

Related topics: Children's services / Leisure, culture and heritage

An award ceremony will be held at Shirehall in Shrewsbury on Tuesday 21 March 2017 to announce the winner of this year’s Shropshire Teenage Book Award.

Eight books have been shortlisted for this year’s award, which is organised by Shropshire Council’s schools library service, and voted for by pupils in Shropshire and Telford schools.

The shortlisted books are:

  • The Boy Who Drew The Future, by Rhian Ivory
  • Cloud 9, by Alex Campbell
  • Crush, by Eve Ainsworth
  • The Icarus Show, by Sally Christie
  • Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys
  • Silence Is Goldfish by Annabel Pitcher
  • The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
  • Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall.

Local secondary school pupils helped to choose the shortlist and have been voting for their favourite book. Librarians have been visiting the schools and working with teachers to promote the shortlist and gain valuable feedback about which books teenagers prefer.

Three of the shortlisted authors – Eve Ainsworth, Rhian Ivory and Louise Gornall – are attending the award ceremony. They will be giving presentations to local pupils about their books and the value of reading. There will also be opportunity for pupils to have their books signed.

Sara Pritchard, schools library manager, said:-

“This award is a great way to encourage the county’s teenagers to read more, and is their chance to vote for their favourite book of the year. I look forward to finding out this year’s winning book.”

This is the third year the Teenage Book Award has been running. Last year it was won by author Jennifer Niven for “All The Bright Places”.