Congratulations to Jennifer Horn, the author and illustrator of
a fiction picture book for 6-12 year olds published by Crooked House Press.
When a baker of magical goods attempts to help her good friend, the Gentleman, she finds an important ingredient goes missing in the process. This book is a whimsical fairy tale for all those young at heart.
TODAY is publication day for this precious new book!
Congratulations to Mark Carthew, the author of
illustrated by Shane McG and published by Ford Street Publishing, which won the
This whimsical picture book features the delight of wordplay through rhythmic narrative and evocative illustration. The engaging and playful story introduces the concept of onomatopoeia.
Congratulations - our hearts go ZING when we hear such news!
CHICKEN HOUSE CROWNS TWO WINNERS OF TIMES CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION
Chicken House are delighted to announce the two winners of their annual writing competition, each winning a £10,000 publishing deal with Chicken House, and the offer of representation from PFD literary agent Lucy Irvine.
The overall prize, the Times/Chicken House Award, was won by Emily Randall and her novel The Flood Child, which also previously won the Mslexia Prize. The IET 150 Award, sponsored by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, was awarded to Alison Stegert’s submission The Remarkables. This one-off prize was for a manuscript which broadly celebrated science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
The Flood Child tells the story of Autumn, a thirteen-year-old who can see the dead. When her father drowns and he’s the one ghost that doesn’t appear, she must solve the mystery of his death before his past comes hurtling into her present.
Emily Randall trained as an actor, and spent years touring in classic novel adaptations with a merry band of players and the set in a horse box. She's also been a Historical Interpreter (one of those in Georgian dress at Hampton Court) and worked for the National Trust, where she created trails and exhibitions for all ages. In fact, it was producing an interactive murder mystery that ignited a love for writing twisty tales for older children. She now writes alongside raising two tiny people, one of whom lent her middle name to the main character.
The Remarkables follows young Victorian inventor, Winnie, who is unexpectedly expelled from her progressive academy thanks to her father’s business disgrace and disappearance. Winnie is set adrift with nothing but big debts and bigger dreams of World Fair glory when a mysterious agency conscripts her into Her Majesty’s Secret League of Remarkable Young Ladies …
At age 12, Alison Stegert read The Secret Garden, a book she credits with unleashing her desire to write, her urge to travel, and her fascination with the UK – all unusual interests for a country girl from small-town America. At 18, she began travelling and acquiring languages. In China, she fell in love with an Aussie whom she married (best souvenir ever!). After raising three remarkable daughters and retiring from school counselling, Alison now focuses on her writing. She's the state director of the Queensland branch of SCBWI ANZ.
This year’s competition was judged by two separate judging panels, both chaired by Chicken House publisher Barry Cunningham. Barry was joined by bestselling author Christopher Edge and the IET’s 150th anniversary President, Professor Danielle George, for the IET 150 Award; the Times/Chicken House Award panel consisted of the Times Arts Editor Alex O’Connell, PFD literary agent Lucy Irvine, previous winner and bestselling author Jasbinder Bilan, rights scout Sophie Clarke, and school librarian and previous director of Round Table Books Layla Hudson.
The IET 150 Prize was introduced especially for this year to celebrate the IET’s 150th anniversary, putting engineering and technology front and centre of children’s fiction, while helping to raise awareness of the industry and challenging outdated stereotypes.
Barry Cunningham said, ‘It is always a joy to chair our competition, and this year it really was the toughest decision yet! Our final eight were all worthy winners but, ultimately, Emily and Ali’s tales of island mystery and Victorian invention shone through with their originality and confidence. I’m thrilled to be welcoming them to the Chicken House coop, and to be launching their writing careers.’
Now the biggest children's writing competition in the UK, the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition has been running for 11 years and has kickstarted the careers of many of the most established children's writers in the UK, including Costa Award-winning author Jasbinder Bilan. Since the competition’s inception, 61% of shortlistees have gone on to be published.
The competition will reopen later this year. It costs £18 to enter and is open to writers from all over the world, as long as they write in English, are unagented and have not had a children’s book published before. For more details on the competition and instructions on how to enter, please visit the Chicken House website: www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions
The publishing contract has been signed and is official and Ali is now represented by literary agent Lucy Irvine of Peters, Fraser & Dunlop Literary & Talent Agency, (PFD Agency) London.
In an interesting aside, Emily Randall is also a SCBWI member. HUGE congratulations to both, but especially our very own ARA, Ali, from all of us at SCBWI.
