Bushby wins inaugural Adrien Prize

Aisha Bushby has won the inaugural Adrien Prize for A Flash of Fireflies (Farshore).

The prize celebrates commercial children’s fiction that explores the disability experience and was set up by author Elle McNicoll after several prizes which rewarded children’s fiction, including the Blue Peter Book Awards and Costa Book Awards, were axed last year.

The winner was decided by a panel of young judges and their librarian. They praised Bushby’s “gorgeous characterisation, the dynamic use of metaphor, the inventive storytelling and the authentic portrayal of the young narrator”.

Bushby said: “With Fireflies, I set out to write a book that shows people what OCD feels like because I first discovered I had it at the age this book is aimed at. So to have young readers resonate with it means the world to me.”

In a statement on Twitter, the prize said: “Thank you to everyone who has supported this small and humble prize during its first year. Thanks to your help, these incredible books that feature authentic disability rep have been promoted in libraries and bookshops, and we hope to make festival appearances, too.

“Disability rep in children’s fiction should be varied, diverse, truthful and not led with trauma. Thank you for helping this prize in its promotion of such work. We will open again for new nominations in November.”