Opine Books
Winner of the Children’s Fiction category is Safiyyah’s War (Andersen Press) by Hiba Noor Khan, described as an extraordinary novel set in occupied Paris which finds a girl engaged in dangerous resistance work after her father is arrested by the Nazis.
"The prospect of creating a team with the supremely talented [designer] Holly [Battle], and creatively collaborating with Felice and her colleagues, is truly exciting to me", said Morrison.
I’m looking forward to our judging discussions – there’s so much to be said about each of these remarkable novels, and I feel that this year will be particularly difficult choosing a winner because we couldn’t cut the longlist to our normal twelve, so passionate were the team about each book."
“I feel completely honoured that it is librarians who have deemed The Boy Lost in the Maze as worthy of a Carnegie medal and will forever be grateful to the team at Otter-Barry Books, illustrator Kate Milner and my agent Caroline Sheldon for helping me bring this story to bookshelves and into the hands of readers.”
As part of its submission, the publisher provided evidence of its commitment to removing gender inequalities in the workplace, which include flexible working, family-friendly policies, an inclusive culture and career progression.
She is the author of five books: Brick Lane, Alentejo Blue, In the Kitchen, Untold Story and Love Marriage, is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2003 was named as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.
"There’s an enormous appetite for SFF titles among the CB team and we’re actively looking for new, exciting writers in this area so we couldn’t be happier that CBC will be applying their unique, thoughtful and supportive approach to this new course," said Steph Thwaites, head of the book department at Curtis Brown.
Anika Hussain’s This Is How You Fall in Love, published by Hot Key Books, is a charming fake dating rom-com in which Zara pretends to be in a relationship with her best friend Adnan to conceal the identity of his secret girlfriend.
Making up the shortlist for the prize – now in its 20th year – are Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent (Sandycove; Penguin Ireland), In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster UK) and Killing Jericho by William Hussey (Zaffre, Bonnier).
The academic publisher, which has signed up to the United Nations’ list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “aligns many of its operational and publishing activities with the SDGs through its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, operating ethically, and supporting the communities it serves".