TWO GLASGOW AUTHORS SHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND’S 
BIGGEST CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD.

Scottish Book Trust is delighted to announce today, Thursday 28 August, that Glasgow-based children’s authors E.B. Colin and Ross Collins have been shortlisted for this year’s Scottish Children’s Book Awards, celebrating the most popular children’s and young adult books by Scottish authors or illustrators.

 
Run by Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland, these are Scotland’s largest book awards, split into three age categories, with a total prize fund of £12,000. Shortlisted authors and illustrators receive £500 per book, and the three winning books receive £3,000 each. Over the next five months, children the length and breadth of Scotland will be reading the three shortlisted books in their age category and voting for their favourite. The three winning books will be announced at a special award ceremony on 4 March 2015.

E.B. Colin is shortlisted in the Younger Readers (8-11 yrs) category for her children’s novel, Pyrate’s Boy, published by Kelpies, a swashbuckling adventure set on the high seas in 1750 which follows a young lad’s experiences on board a pirate ship.  



Colin lives in Pollockshields and is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Strathclyde University. She is also the author of four novels for adults including The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite and The Songwriter. She also writes short stories, screen and radio plays and for children. One of her children’s novels, My Invisible Sister, has been optioned by Disney in the US.



Commenting on her nomination, she said: 

“I’m delighted that ‘Pyrate’s Boy’ has been shortlisted. I had a lot of fun writing it, researching all sorts of things from poisonous snakes to Bonnie Prince Charlie. I loved living in 1750 and sailing the High Seas, if only in my imagination, and hope that lots of other readers will too.” 
 
Ross Collins is shortlisted in the Bookbug Reader’s category for the illustrations in picture book Robot Rumpus, written by Sean Taylor. Ross is the author and illustrator of numerous picture books, and is a previous winner of a 2008 Scottish Children’s Book Award for Billy Monster’s Daymare and also appeared on the 2011 shortlist for Dear Vampa. Growing up, Ross attended Primary and Secondary school in Shawlands and then studied illustration at Glasgow School of Art, where he won the Macmillan children’s book prize in his final year. Collins also works in character development for animators such as Disney and is a regular at the Edinburgh Book Festival.

 Commenting on his nomination, Ross said:

It’s wonderful to be shortlisted for the award. To know that ‘Robot Rumpus’ will be in the sticky hands of so many Scottish children is a lovely feeling and an award that is voted for by the readers themselves is worth so much more.”
 
Ross’ book will also be gifted to every Primary 1 child in Scotland, along with the two other books shortlisted in the Bookbug Readers category. The books will be gifted in the Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack, funded by the Scottish Government and Education Scotland, and are intended to encourage P1 children, who are just beginning their learning journey, to discover the joy of reading.
 
THE  SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS SHORTLIST:
 
Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)

  • Princess Penelope and the Runaway Kitten by Alison Murray (Nosy Crow)
  • Robot Rumpus by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Ross Collins (Andersen Press)
  • Lost for Words by Natalie Russell (Macmillan)

 
Younger Readers (8-11 years)

  • Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion by Alexander McCall Smith (Birlinn)
  • Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens by Alex McCall (Kelpies)
  • Pyrate’s Boy by E.B. Colin (Kelpies)

 
Older Readers (12-16 years)

  • Dark Spell by Gill Arbuthnott (Kelpies)
  • The Wall by William Sutcliffe (Bloomsbury)
  • Mosi’s War by Cathy MacPhail (Bloomsbury)

 
Jasmine Fassl, Head of Schools at Scottish Book Trust said:
 
“The Scottish Children’s Book Awards are much more than a celebration of Scottish literature – they are about expanding children’s horizons far beyond their physical boundaries and barriers. By simply reading just one of the shortlisted novels in their category, a 5 year old can imagine what it’s like to have rampaging robots as babysitters, a 10 year old can hop aboard a pirate ship, and a 15 year old can be transported into the mind of a teenager in a war zone. We hope that children, teachers, parents and librarians across Scotland will take this journey with us and get lost in these 9 wonderful stories.”


Jenny Niven, Portfolio Manager for Literature at Creative Scotland, commented:
 
“Literacy, and access to books for Scotland’s children and families is absolutely critical for our capacity to learn, to develop and to imagine. The work of Scottish Book Trust is fundamental in this. The next step beyond access is to provide the means for children and young people to develop an independent love of books and reading, and the Scottish Children’s Book Awards play an enormous role in making this possible. 
 
“By voting for their own reading choices they are taking steps in their journeys as independent readers – steps which will have an impact on their education, their wellbeing and their imaginations far into the future. Creative Scotland is delighted to support this work, and is encouraged to see such a strong shortlist of Scottish books for our voters to choose from.” 
 
The Scottish Children’s Book Awards also encourage budding authors or journalists to put pen to paper: the popular Book Review Competition offers pupils the chance to win book tokens for themselves and an author visit for their school.
 
Budding film makers can enter the book trailer competition to entice their peers to read the books too and win book tokens for their school. Scottish Book Trust provides extensive learning resources for teachers on how to create book trailers.
 
The Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack is part of Bookbug, Scotland’s national book gifting programme, funded by the Scottish Government and run by Scottish Book Trust.
 
CALL Scotland has again worked with Scottish Book Trust and the authors and publishers to create accessible digital versions of the nine shortlisted books for children and young people with physical, visual and reading or dyslexic difficulties, who can’t read the paper books. The accessible digital versions of the shortlisted books are available free of charge from CALL Scotland. You can request books by going to http://www.callscotland.org.uk/Home/
 
 
FOR ALL PRESS QUERIES, PLEASE CONTACT HELEN CRONEY: helen.croney@scottishbooktrust.com – 0131 524 0175 or 07751 69 58 54
 
Notes to editors:
 
Scottish Children’s Book Awards (@ScottishBkTrust – #SCBA15):

  • The Scottish Children’s Book Awards are managed by Scottish Book Trust in partnership with Creative Scotland, and are supported by Waterstones and CALL.
  • Teachers, librarians and book group leaders sign up their groups in the appropriate age group and then the children and young people read, review, discuss and vote for their favourite books.
  • Reviews and book trailers are posted on the Scottish Book Trust website by young judges to share their enthusiasm about the shortlisted books.
  • Videos of each Bookbug category author reading and talking about their book will be available at http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/scba

 
The Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack (@Bookbug_SBT):
 
The Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack is part of Bookbug, Scotland’s national book gifting programme, funded by the Scottish Government, run by Scottish Book Trust and co-ordinated locally across Scotland by the library service. Bookbug gifts books to every baby, toddler, 3 and 5-year-old in Scotland in five Bookbug packs:

  • Baby pack (gifted by a health visitor to every baby)
  • Toddler pack (gifted by a health visitor to every toddler)
  • Pirate pack (gifted at nursery to every 3-year-old )
  • P1 book (gifted at school to every P1 pupil)
  • Dolly Parton Imagination Library (free books delivered monthly to every Looked After Child aged 0–5 in Scotland)

 
Creative Scotland (@CreativeScots)
 
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visitwww.creativescotland.com.  Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland.

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Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X