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Keren David wins Lancashire Book of the Year Award with debut novel

The winner of the Lancashire Book of the Year Award has just been announced. Congratulations to Keren David who won for his debut novel When I was Joe, which beat 84 other nominees to the prestigious award. David received £1,000 from the Chairman of Lancashire County Council, Councillor Geoffrey Roper.

In When I was Joe Ty witnesses a stabbing and suddenly finds his own life in danger from the criminals he has named. He and his mum have to go into police protection. Ty is given a new name, a new look and a cool new image – life as Joe is good. But his mum cannot cope with her new life, and the gangsters will stop at nothing to flush them from hiding. Joe begins cracking under extreme pressure and then he meets a girl with dark secrets of her own…

Purchase When I Was Joe from Amazon.co.uk

“I’ve had so many congratulations from writers telling me that the Lancashire award is really something very special. I am very proud to have received this recognition for my first novel. I very much enjoyed meeting everyone, especially the young people involved in judging the award,” David commented to the Lancashire Evening Post.

The award was run by Lancashire County Council’s Library Service with more than 10 Lancashire schools taking part in the judging.

The 2011 Shortlist also included these books:

  • Black Out by Sam Mills;
  • Della Says OMG by Keris Stainton;
  • Inside my Head by Jim Carrington;
  • Lifted by Hilary Freeman;
  • My Rocky Romance Diary by Liz Rettig;
  • Pretty Bad Things by C J Skuse;
  • Tapas and Tears by Chris Higgin;
  • The Spook’s Nightmare by Joseph Delaney;
  • Whisper My Name by Jane Eagland.

The Lancashire Book Of The Year Award was established in 1986 for young people to draw attention to the sorts of books they rave about and would most like to recommend. The first award was presented in 1987 to Philip Pullman’s The Ruby In the Smoke.

Here are the previous winners of the Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year:

  • The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman;
  • Redwall by Brian Jacques;
  • Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz;
  • Plague 99 by Jean Ure;
  • Mattimeo by Brian Jacques;
  • Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis;
  • Salamandastron by Brian Jacques and Gulf by Robert Westall;
  • The Boy in the Bubble by Ian Strachan;
  • The Electric Kid by Garry Kilworth;
  • Chandra by Frances Mary Hendry;
  • Sea of Peril by Elizabeth Hawkins;
  • Jay by Elizabeth Laird;
  • Out of the Darkness by Nigel Hinton;
  • Shadows by Tim Bowler;
  • Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess and Plague by Malcolm Rose;
  • Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman;
  • Exodus by Julie Bertagna;
  • Poison by Chris Wooding;
  • The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud;
  • Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz;
  • Divine Madness by Robert Muchamore;
  • Fearless by Tim Lott;
  • Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie;
  • Bang, Bang, You’re Dead by Narinder Dhami.

Being a proud North-Westerner myself, I obviously believe that the taste of my fellow Lancastrians is exemplary. So. over the next 2 years I will be reading and reviewing each and every book on this list, one each month. I will start in July with The Ruby in the Smoke.

Have you read When I was Joe? I would love to hear what you think about it – please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

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