Scholastic stands out on Waterstones Children’s shortlist

Titles by Matt Carr, Lisa Thompson and Alice Broadway are on the shortlist for this year’s Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, announced today (7th February), meaning Scholastic has more books in the running than any other publisher.

Carr is on the shortlist for the illustrated book prize with Superbat, whilst Thomson’s The Goldfish Boy is in the running for the younger fiction award. Broadway is shortlisted in the older fiction category for her YA novel Ink.

There are three categories - illustrated books, younger fiction and older fiction - and Flying Eye has two books shortlisted for the illustrated books award; Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann and The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton. Andersen Press has one in the illustrated books category (Fergal is Fuming by Robert Starling) and one in the older fiction category (Troublemakers by Catherine Barter).

Other publishers which have books in the running include Egmont, Kings Road Publishing, Chicken House, David Fickling Books and Walker.

The 18 shortlisted titles [see below for full listing] were chosen by Waterstones booksellers and their choices reflect a renewed interest in fantastical adventure stories, according to children’s buyer Florentyna Martin.

“Children have always been eager to experience worlds beyond our own, whether it’s in books, films or technology, but our booksellers’ shortlist show that a resurgence of nostalgic fantastical adventures is creating a hunger for new magical stories," she said. "The books on this year’s lists are the classics of the future and will be inspiring children for generations to come.”

The winners of each category will be announced at a reception at Waterstones Piccadilly on 22nd March. One category winner will then be crowned Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year 2018. The category winners will be given £2,000 and the overall winner an extra £3,000.

Last year, the overall winner was Kiran Millwood Hargrave and sales of her book, The Girl of Ink and Stars (Chicken House), increased 1,400% across the Waterstones estate, the retailer said.

This year’s shortlist in full:

Illustrated Books:         

Superbat by Matt Carr (Scholastic)

Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann (Flying Eye)

The Night Box by Louise Greig and Ashling Lindsay (Egmont)

I Really Want The Cake by Simon Philip and Lucia Gagiotti (Kings Road Publishing)

Fergal Is Fuming by Robert Starling (Andersen Press)

The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye)

Younger Fiction:

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan (Usborne)

Who Let The Gods Out? by Maz Evans (Chicken House)

Kid Normal by Greg James, Chris Smith and Erica Salcedo (Bloomsbury)

The Five Realms: The Legend of Podkin One–Ear by Kieran Larwood, illustrated by David Wyatt (Faber)

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson (Scholastic)

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (Hachette Children’s)

Older Fiction:

The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy (Pushkin Children’s)

Troublemakers by Catherine Barter (Andersen Press)

Ink by Alice Broadway (Scholastic)

Thornhill by Pam Smy (David Fickling Books)

This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada (Penguin Random House Children’s)

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Walker)