Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book wins the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009
Neil Gaiman, commonly known as the ‘rock star’ of the literary world, is revealed as the winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009.
His book The Graveyard Book saw off competition from five other authors including Patrick Ness who was nominated for a second year. Ness won the prize last year with The Knife of Never Letting Go.
The Graveyard Book tells the story of Nobody ‘Bod’ Owens, a child abandoned in a graveyard after the vicious murder of his parents and sister by The Man Jack. Raised and educated by the ghosts that live there, Bod encounters terrible and unexpected menaces in the horror of the pit of the Sleer and the city of Ghouls. It is in the land of the living that the real danger lies as The Man Jack is determined to find Bod and finish him off.
Neil Gaiman is listed as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. He is the creator of the iconic DC comic series Sandman, the only comic to ever make the New York Times Bestseller list.
His books have been adapted for a number of successful films, most recently the animated adventure Coraline. His screenplay Beowulf starred Angelina Jolie and Ray Winstone, and his book Stardust was adapted for a film starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer.
In his acceptance speech, Neil paid credit to the authors that had inspired him:
‘Sometimes when we look big, and seem to see further, it's because we are standing on the shoulders of giants. The field of children’s literature has seen many giants, and those of us who toil in the field make our contributions using what we've learned from those who came first.
‘I'm proud of The Graveyard Book. But I know I got to stand on the shoulders of giants in order to write it. There were two writers of children's fiction who influenced The Graveyard Book. Foremost, obviously, Rudyard Kipling, and his short story collection The Jungle Book; less obviously Pamela "P.L" Travers, and her Mary Poppins stories. And everyone else: the writers I learned from as a young reader, and the writers I've learned from as a writer: a host of other craftsmen and women I learned, or borrowed, or stole from, to build The Graveyard Book.‘
Neil was awarded a cheque for £2,500 and a trophy at a ceremony in London on Wednesday 18 November.
Read an interview with Neil Gaiman
Judi James, Chair of Judges commented:
'The six shortlisted books for the Booktrust Teenage Prize Award 2009, were chosen by the judges, for their exceptional quality of writing and storytelling, ranging from Helen Grant’s superb first novel, to the highly acclaimed Neil Gaiman whose novel, The Graveyard Book was unanimously chosen the winner. ‘Nobody Owens’, won the hearts of all the judges, young and old as did the delightfully sinister, generous, eccentric and heart-warming characters that inhabit the old graveyard. Gaiman’s writing is gentle, fluid and humorous, and fundamentally uplifting.'
The Booktrust Teenage Prize has consistently raised awareness of the very best writing for young adults.
Launched in 2003 to recognise and celebrate contemporary fiction written for teenager, the prize (which is judged by a mixed panel of adults and teenagers) has in the words of former judge Matt Whyman 'fast become the benchmark for quality young people's fiction in the UK.'
Previous winners are Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Sarah Singleton's Century, Anne Cassidy's Looking for JJ, Anthony McGowan's Henry Tumour, Marcus Sedgwick's My Swordhand is Singing and Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go.
2009 prize
The shortlist for the 2009 prize was announced on 21 September.
Auslander by Paul Dowswell (Bloomsbury)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray (Definitions)
The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine (HarperCollins)
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant (Puffin)
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Walker)
Judi James, Chair of Judges, said:
'Judging the Booktrust Teenage Prize has been a fascinating journey. The shortlisted books represent a diverse range of titles with one thing in common – they are all written by talented authors who should be celebrated! It is this remarkable quality of writing and storytelling that lures you into their extraordinary worlds, where gloriously authentic characters and intriguing events captivate.'
The winning author will receive a cheque for £2,500 and a trophy at a ceremony in London on 18 November.
Read the shortlist press release (Microsoft Word .doc 148Kb)
For the second year running, we released a longlist to celebrate the thrilling best of the year's books for teenagers.
Auslander by Paul Dowswell (Bloomsbury)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)
Tales of Terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley (Bloomsbury)
Numbers by Rachel Ward (Chicken House)
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray (Definitions)
Furnace: Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith (Faber)
Three Ways to Snog an Alien by Graham Joyce (Faber)
The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine (HarperCollins)
Bloodchild by Tim Bowler (Oxford University Press)
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant (Puffin)
Solitaire by Bernard Ashley (Usborne)
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Walker)
Exposure by Mal Peet (Walker)
Prize administration
Prize information
Claire Shanahan
t 020 8516 2973
e prizes@booktrust.org.uk
Press information
Alice Ingall
t 0208 875 4583
e alice.ingall@booktrust.org.uk
