Carnegie Medal time
CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, phew, have announced the shortlist for the 2008 Carnegie Medal.
Kevin Crossley-Holland, Gatty’s Tale
Linzi Glass, Ruby Red
Tanya Landman, Apache
Elizabeth Laird, Crusade
Philip Reeve, Here Lies Arthur
Meg Rosoff, What I Was
Jenny Valentine, Finding Violet Park
The list is an exciting mix of historical and contemporary fiction. At least two of the novels are set in the Crusades. (One more and it will look like a trend.)
I have just received a copy of Linzi Glass’s Ruby Red. Her first novel, When the Gypsies Came is powerfully atmospheric novel of a childhood in Africa. The new one also exploits the author’s African upbringing, this time via the Soweto riots of 1976, a turning point in the anti-apartheid campaign.
Also, keep your eye on the judges’ shadowing site. Julie Musslewhite, one of the Carnegie judges, will be sharing her thoughts on the books over the mext few weeks.
