Hayley Long's Blog Type Thing: The Mal Peet Children's Book Award

I'm really very delighted to have received the Mal Peet Children's Book Award for 'The Nearest Faraway Place' at a packed-out event in Delia Smith's Top of the Terrace Restaurant at Norwich City Football Club. The award was one of eight prizes given out for the 2017 East Anglian Book Awards and I am especially chuffed to have received it not only because winning is nice but also

i) I am from mighty Felixstowe (full East Anglian credentials) and
ii) I am also a massive admirer of the late great Mal Peet.

Mal was a fantastic writer and his book 'Life: An Exploded Diagram' is an absolute stormer and one of my all-time favourite reads. I love this book for many reasons but here are just two of them:

i). The school, 'Newgate', that Mal describes so unmistakably is very clearly Paston College where I used to work as an English teacher.

ii). When the central character, Clem, passes his eleven-plus, his nana - who is called Win Little (ha!) - says, ''He go to that Newgate... he'll start to think his shit dunt stink.'

Ah! Spoken as only an East Anglian could say it.

Anyway, what a lovely event the East Anglian Book Awards was and is.
The big prize for Book of the Year went to John Berger and John Christie for the non-fiction book 'Lapwing and Fox.'

Other winners were: Sarah Hall for 'Madame Zero' (fiction)
Carl Gorham for 'The Owl at the Window' (biography)
Christine Hiskey for 'Holkham' (history)
Neil Powell for 'Was and Is' (poetry)

A prize for best cover was awarded to 'Was and Is'

The other authors shortlisted for the Mal Peet Children's Award were Francesca Armour-Chelu for 'Fenn Halflin and the Seaborn' and William Bee for 'Migloo's Weekend.'

I feel very honoured to have scooped the prize on this occasion.
Below are some pictures of the event.