Manchester Book Award facts for kids

The Manchester Book Award is a project run in Manchester, UK, organised by School Services at the Manchester Library & Information Service; it is funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The project is currently in its fourth year.

Each year, a longlist of twenty-four children's books is drawn up from nominations by secondary-school pupils, school and library staff, and publishers. To be eligible for the longlist books have to be standalone books (that is, not sequels) published between 1 July and 30 June, written by authors living in the UK. Reading groups in schools and libraries then narrow this to a shortlist of six. In the following January, young people across Manchester start voting for their favourite, either online or in libraries and schools; voting for the 2009 award closed on 5 March.

The winner of the award is announced each year at a ceremony at the City of Manchester Stadium attended by pupils from the 24 state secondary schools in Manchester. The ceremony was compered in 2008 and 2009 by Paul Sleem.

The 2009 award was announced by Coronation Street actress, Julie Hesmondhalgh, on 11 March 2009.

List of Prize Winners

• 2009 Six Steps to a Girl by Sophie McKenzie
• 2008 Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie
• 2007 Beast by Ally Kennen
• 2006 Stuff by Jeremy Strong

Shortlists

• 2009
  • Forget Me Not by Anne Cassidy
  • Crash by J.A. Henderson
  • The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
  • Six Steps to a Girl by Sophie McKenzie
  • Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls
  • The Amethyst Child by Sarah Singleton
• 2008
  • Being by Kevin Brooks
  • The Devil's Breath: Danger Zone by David Gilman
  • Do The Creepy Thing by Graham Joyce
  • Berserk by Ally Kennen
  • Nemesis by Catherine MacPhail
  • Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie
• 2007
  • Ingo by Helen Dunmore
  • The Drowning Pond by Catherine Forde
  • Hold On by Alan Gibbons
  • Until Proven Guilty by Nigel Hinton
  • Beast by Ally Kennen
  • The Innocent's Story by Nicky Singer
• 2006
  • Jimmy Coates: Killer by Joe Craig
  • The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
  • Roxy's Baby by Catherine MacPhail
  • Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
  • Stuff by Jeremy Strong
  • Gangsta rap by Benjamin Zephaniah

Longlists

• 2009
  • Angel Boy by Bernard Ashley
  • Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
  • Forget Me Not by Anne Cassidy
  • Lucky Star by Cathy Cassidy
  • Abela by Berlie Doherty
  • Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
  • Sugarcoated by Catherine Forde
  • Dragonfly by Julia Golding
  • Ghosting by Keith Gray
  • Crash by J.A. Henderson
  • Slam by Nick Hornby
  • The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
  • Lost Riders by Elizabeth Laird
  • Bad Blood by Rhiannon Lassiter
  • Rain by Kate Le Vann
  • The Knife That Killed Me by Anthony McGowan
  • Six Steps To A Girl by Sophie McKenzie
  • Born to Run by Michael Morpurgo
  • The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
  • Ways To Live Forever by Sally Nicholls
  • Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley
  • Grave Dirt by E.E. Richardson
  • The Amethyst Child by Sarah Singleton
  • Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine
• 2008
  • Darkside by Tom Becker
  • Dirty Work by Julia Bell
  • Being by Kevin Brooks
  • The Spellgrinder's Apprentice by N. M. Browne
  • Sundae Girl by Cathy Cassidy
  • Sebastian Darke by Philip Caveney
  • Waves by Sharon Dogar
  • Tug of War by Catherine Forde
  • The Devil's Breath: Danger Zone by David Gilman
  • Do The Creepy Thing by Graham Joyce
  • Berserk by Ally Kennen
  • Roundabout by Rhiannon Lassiter
  • Red Fox Running by Robin Lloyd Jones
  • Kill Swap by James Lovegrove
  • Nemesis by Catherine MacPhail
  • Twin Freaks by Paul Magrs
  • Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie
  • Angel by Cliff McNish
  • Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
  • The Rope Ladder by Nigel Richardson
  • Kiss of Death by Malcolm Rose
  • My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick
  • Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine
  • Fight Game by K. Wild
• 2007
  • Clay by David Almond
  • Smokescreen by Bernard Ashley
  • Sara's Face by Melvin Burgess
  • Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy
  • Thieves Like Us by Stephen Cole
  • Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce
  • Cloud World by David Cunningham
  • Ingo by Helen Dunmore
  • The Drowning Pond by Catherine Forde
  • Hold On by Alan Gibbons
  • The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding
  • Fur by Meg Harper
  • Until Proven Guilty by Nigel Hinton
  • Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
  • Beast by Ally Kennen
  • Exchange by Paul Magrs
  • The Riddles of Epsilon by Christine Morton-Shaw
  • Seeker by William Nicholson
  • Tamar by Mal Peet
  • The Foreshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick
  • Tins by Alex Shearer
  • The Innocent's Story by Nicky Singer
  • Heretic by Sarah Singleton
  • Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
• 2006
  • The Diary of Pelly-D by L. J. Adlington
  • Ten Days to Zero by Bernard Ashley
  • Paralysed by Sherry Ashworth
  • Divided City by Theresa Breslin
  • Bloodline by Kevin Brooks
  • Candy by Kevin Brooks
  • Indigo Blue by Cathy Cassidy
  • Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
  • Jimmy Coates: Killer by Joe Craig
  • The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
  • Skarrs by Catherine Forde
  • The Fearful by Keith Gray
  • The Merrybegot by Julie Hearn
  • SilverFin by Charlie Higson
  • Jacob's Ladder by Brian Keaney
  • Roxy's Baby by Catherine Macphail
  • The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo
  • Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver
  • The Hunted by Alex Shearer
  • Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper
  • Stuff by Jeremy Strong
  • Branded by Robert Swindells
  • The Unrivalled Spangles by Karen Wallace
  • Gangsta rap by Benjamin Zephaniah