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Penguin trio vie for the 2022 YA Book Prize among shortlist full of début talent
First-time authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Natasha Bowen and Femi Fadugba are in the running for this year’s YA Book Prize, on a varied 10-strong shortlist.
Penguin leads the nominations on the 10-strong shortlist for the YA Book Prize 2022, run by The Bookseller in a strong year for debut talent, with the winner to be announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Penguin author Manjeet Mann has been shortlisted for her Costa Children’s Book Award-winning novel in verse, The Crossing, which tells the story of two teenagers from opposite worlds: Natalie, who is struggling with her mother’s death and her brother’s descent into anger and violence; and Sammy, who has fled his home in Eritrea for the chance of a new life in Europe. Début Penguin authors Natasha Bowen and Femi Fadugba are also nominated: Bowen’s Skin of the Sea is a fantastical love story infused with West African mythology about a mermaid who goes on a perilous quest after saving a boy thrown off a slave ship, and Fadugba’s The Upper World is a sci-fi thriller set in south-east London that sees two teenagers from different generations travel through time to try to change their fates.
Usborne and Hachette each have two titles apiece on the list. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is recognised for her first novel, Ace of Spades, a twisty school-set thriller in which head girl Chiamaka and musician Devon must join forces to tackle their anonymous tormentor and institutionalised racism. Her Usborne stablemate Holly Bourne is recognised for The Yearbook, which sees quiet Paige learn to stand up for herself and expose the lies about her school’s popular clique as well as her own troubled family.
Two very different LGBTQ+ love stories from Hachette are shortlisted: Afterlove by Tanya Byrne and Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar. Byrne’s is a supernatural romance in which a teenage girl dies following a car accident and then must choose between gathering souls for the afterlife or seeing her first love again. In Jaigirdar’s novel, two very different Bengali girls start a fake relationship for their mutual benefit, only to start developing real feelings for each other.
Scholastic author Simon James Green makes the list for the first time with his LGBTQ+ romance You’re the One That I Want. In it, Freddie tries to transform his social and romantic life, but he discovers that sometimes getting things wrong helps you figure out what, and who, you really want. Completing the shortlist are House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (Hot Key Books) and First Day of My Life by Lisa Williamson (David Fickling Books). The former is a Gothic fantasy that centres on the mysterious disappearance, and even more mysterious reappearance, of the seductively glamorous Hollow sisters. The latter is a contemporary story in which Frankie goes on a road trip with her ex-boyfriend Ram to find her best friend Jojo after she goes missing on GCSE results day.
The eighth year
The YA Book Prize was launched in 2014 by The Bookseller to celebrate great books for teenagers and young adults written by authors resident in the UK and Ireland; previous winners include Louise O’Neill, Patrice Lawrence and Juno Dawson. Last year’s award went to Alice Oseman for her novel about a romance-obsessed teenager who realises that she is aromantic and asexual, Loveless (HarperCollins Children’s Books). The Bookseller has this year partnered with The Edinburgh International Book Festival on the prize for the first time.
The 2022 winner will be chosen from the 10-strong shortlist by a panel led by Caroline Carpenter, The Bookseller’s children’s editor and deputy features editor and the YA Book Prize chair. Rachel Fox, Edinburgh International Book Festival’s children and schools programme director, will be returning to the panel for a second year, alongside three new faces: award-winning children’s author and advocate for better representation of neurodiversity in publishing, Elle McNicoll; Wales-based content creator and speculative fiction writer Joel Rochester; and Irish children’s writer, events programmer, bookseller and reviewer Sarah Webb. The final judging will also include input from teenage judges from schools based in London, Hereford, Bradford and Edinburgh.
I’m really happy with this year’s incredibly strong YA Book Prize shortlist, which spans a whole host of genres—from contemporary to fantasy to thrillers and romance—and covers a wide range of themes and issues including institutional racism, time travel, first loves, friendship, and the refugee crisis. Caroline Carpenter, YA Book Prize chair.
Fox said: “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with the YA Book Prize, which always highlights the highest calibre YA authors for the award.” She added: “As a judge it’s going to be an incredibly tough year to decide a winner, but I look forward to hearing the thoughts of the experts and school children on the judging panel to make the decision together.”
Webb was “delighted to be a judge”, adding: “It’s been an outstanding year for YA fiction and I can’t wait to discuss the books on the shortlist with the other judges.” McNicoll described being asked to join the panel as “a professional highlight”, saying: “YA formed me into the reader I am today, so to celebrate and champion the amazing work being produced at present is a thrill and an honour.” Rochester called his role as a judge “a dream come true”, but warned that it would be difficult to choose a winner from “such a great shortlist”.
Carpenter commented: “I’m really happy with this year’s incredibly strong YA Book Prize shortlist, which spans a whole host of genres—from contemporary to fantasy to thrillers and romance—and covers a wide range of themes and issues including institutional racism, time travel, first loves, friendship, and the refugee crisis. There’s something for everyone! I’m particularly pleased to have three brilliant debut authors on the list alongside some of our leading YA writers, which is a really positive sign that publishers in the UK and Ireland are continuing to invest in new talent.”
The shortlisted titles will be promoted via the YA Book Prize and The Bookseller’s digital channels in a dedicated campaign running from 11th July to 12th August. The nominated authors will also appear on panels as part of The Edinburgh International Book Festival’s schools programme, which will be free to attend, with every pupil on site receiving a copy of one of the shortlisted books to take home. This year’s recipient of the £2,000 prize will be announced live at the festival on Thursday 25th August in a ceremony that will also be streamed live on the festival’s website and YouTube channel.
To find out more about the YA Book Prize shortlist and judges, click here.
To find out more about the YA Book Prize schools panels and winner’s ceremony at Edinburgh International Book Festival and to book your tickets, click here.
