Nick Sharratt wins inaugural Scottish picture book prize

Author and illustrator Nick Sharratt has won the first Bookbug Picture Book Prize, launched by Scottish Book Trust and Creative Scotland.

Sharratt’s Shark in the Park on a Windy Day (Picture Corgi) was chosen by 19,000 Scottish children aged between three and seven who were asked to pick their favourite picture book from a shortlist of three titles.

“I am absolutely delighted that Shark in the Park on a Windy Day has won the 2017 Bookbug Picture Book Prize,” said Sharratt, who received a trophy and £3,000. “I've had the pleasure of going into scores of Scottish schools, nurseries and libraries to work with hundreds of children over the past few years, so the fact that the voting was decided upon by the country's young readers makes the prize all the more special.”

He beat off competition from There’s a Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins (Nosy Crow) and Hare and Tortoise, The Favourite Aesop’s Fable by Alison Murray (Orchard Books).

Scottish Book Trust announced the new prize in May when it said it planned on replacing its its annual Children’s Book Awards with two new prizes; the Bookbug Picture Book Prize and the Scottish Teenage Book Prize. The picture book prize is open to any titles by Scottish authors.

A free copy of each of the three books on the shortlist was given to every Primary 1 child during Book Week Scotland 2016 (27th November – 3rd December).

The winner of the teenage book prize will be announced 1st March.