Dawson and Soofiya win Educational Writers’ Award

What’s the T? (Wren & Rook) by Juno Dawson with drawings by Soofiya has won the 2022 ALCS Educational Writers’ Award. 

The Educational Writers’ Award focuses on books for 11 to 18-year-olds, published in 2020 and 2021. This year’s judges were children’s author Sita Brahmachari, secondary school teacher Sean Chuhan and school librarian Melissa Craig. 

The winning book aims to be a guide to all things trans and/or non-binary for young people and was praised by the judging panel for being hugely informative and written in a way that will appeal to a wide audience. 

They said: “Juno Dawson and Soofiya have produced something incredibly special with this book. It is a fantastic guide, not just for young people who may be exploring their own identity and sexuality, but for anyone seeking to understand transgender and non-binary issues. With a powerful charge of optimism and lived experience, it is witty and funny without being flippant, and practical without being dull. We can see it becoming an influential book indeed, with the power to open minds and hearts”.

Two runners-up were also announced at the ceremony, held last night at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London. These were: Musical Truth: A Musical Journey Through Modern Black Britain (Faber & Faber), written by Jeffrey Boakye and illustrated by Ngadi Smart, and The Place for Me: Stories About the Windrush Generation (Scholastic), with contributions from KN Chimbiri, Kevin George and Salena Godden among others.

What’s the T? beat three further shortlisted titles: A Rebel in Auschwitz: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Fought the Nazis From Inside the Camp, by Jack Fairweather (Scholastic), Silence Is Not An Option: You Can Impact the World for Change, by Stuart Lawrence, designed by Richard Smith (Scholastic), and The Art of Drag, by Jake Hall and illustrated by Sofie Birkin, Helen Li and Jasyot Singh Hans (Nobrow).

Dawson and Soofiya will share a cash prize of £2,000.