Branford Boase Award
The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist."
Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books, and Henrietta Branford worked together to produce a great number of books. Both Boase and Branford died in 1999 of cancer. The Branford Boase Award was created to celebrate and commemorate their names and memories and to encourage new talent in writing, which they worked for. The awards were a joint idea by Julia Eccleshare and Anne Marley who both had jobs to do with books.
The Branford Boase Award runs alongside the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for young writers.
Winners receive a hand-crafted box with the Branford Boase Award logo and a cheque for £1,000. The prize and the official website are currently sponsored by the best-selling children's writer Jacqueline Wilson.
I have a special affection for this prize since I was invited to be the first Author Judge in 2000. Since then the prize has grown in stature with an incredible 57 titles submitted last year, reflecting a great enthusiasm for new writing amongst publishers and readers alike. It can be such a struggle for new writers starting out that I am thrilled to be able to offer this support to a prize which can make a real difference to their prospects.
Winners
Year | Writer | Title | Editor | Publisher |
2000 | Katherine Roberts | Song Quest | Barry Cunningham | Chicken House Publishing |
2001 | Marcus Sedgwick | Floodland | Fiona Kennedy | Orion Books |
2002 | Sally Prue | Cold Tom | Liz Cross | Oxford |
2003 | Kevin Brooks | Martyn Pig | Barry Cunningham | Chicken House |
2004 | Mal Peet | Keeper | Paul Harrison | Walker Books |
2005 | Meg Rosoff | How I Live Now | Rebecca McNally | Puffin Books |
2006 | Frances Hardinge | Fly By Night | Ruth Alltimes | Macmillan Children's Books |
2007 | Siobhan Dowd | A Swift Pure Cry | David Fickling and Bella Pearson | David Fickling Books |
2008 | Jenny Downham | Before I Die | David Fickling | David Fickling |
2009 | B. R. Collins | The Traitor Game | Emma Matthewson | Bloomsbury Publishing |
2010 | Lucy Christopher | Stolen | Imogen Cooper | Chicken House Publishing |
2011 | Jason Wallace | Out of Shadows | Charlie Sheppard | Andersen Press |
2012 | Annabel Pitcher | My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece | Fiona Kennedy | Orion |
2013 | Dave Shelton | A Boy and a Bear in a Boat | David Fickling | David Fickling |
2014 | C.J Flood | Infinite Sky | Venetia Gosling | Simon & Schuster |
2015 | Rosie Powell | Leopold Blue | Katie Thomas | Hot Key Books |
2016 | Horatio Clare | Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot | Penny Thomas | Firefly Press |
2017 | M. G. Leonard | Beetle Boy | Barry Cunningham and Rachel Leyshon | Chicken House Publishing |
2018 | Mitch Johnson | Kick | Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker | Usborne Publishing |
2019 | Muhammad Khan | I Am Thunder | Lucy Pearse | Macmillan Children's Books |
Shortlists
; 2000- Dominic Barker – Sharp Stuff – Transworld
- Gus Clarke – Can We Keep It, Dad? – Andersen Press
- Richard Kidd – The Giant Goldfish Robbery – Transworld
- Paul May – Troublemakers – Transworld
- Stephen Pots – Hunting Gumnor – Egmont
- Louise Rennison – Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging – Piccadilly
- Katherine Roberts – Song Quest – Chicken House
;2001
- Nick Manns – Control Shift – Hodder
- William Nicholson – The Wind Singer – Egmont
- Hazel Riley – Thanis – OUP
- Marcus Sedgwick – Floodland – Orion
;2002
- Emma Barnes – ' – Bloomsbury
- Adele Minchin – The Beat Goes On – Women's Press
- Sally Prue – Cold Tom – OUP
- Bali Rai – arranged Marriage – Corgi
- Philip Reeve – Mortal Engines – Scholastic
;2003
- , ', Pan Macmillan
- Kevin Brooks – Martyn Pig – Chicken House
- Patricia Elliott – Ice Boy – Hodder
- Richard MacSween – The Firing – Andersen
- Livi Michael – Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz – Puffin
- Simon Mason – The Quigleys – David Fickling Books
- Nicky Singer – Feather Boy – HarperCollins
;2004
- Steve Augarde – The Various – David Fickling Books
- Graham Gardner – Inventing Elliott – Dolphin
- Julie Hearn – Follow Me Down – OUP
- L. S. Matthews – Fish – Hodder
- Mal Peet – Keeper – Walker
- Eleanor Updale – Montmorency – Scholastic
;2005
- Alison Allen-Gray – Unique – OUP
- Frank Cottrell Boyce – Millions – Macmillan
- Cathy Cassidy – Dizzy – Puffin Books
- John Dougherty – Zeus on the Loose – Random House
- Michelle Paver – Wolf Brother – Orion
- Meg Rosoff – How I Live Now – Puffin
- Leslie Wilson – Last Train from Kummersdorf – Faber
;2006
- Nicola Davies – Home – Walker
- Joshua Doder – A Dog Called Grk – Andersen Press
- Frances Hardinge – Fly By Night – Macmillan Children's Books
- Ann Kelley – The Burying Beetle – Luath Press
- Sarah Singleton – Century – Simon & Schuster
- Anthony McGowan – Hellbent – Doubleday
- Cat Weatherill – Barkbelly – Puffin
;2007
- Linda Buckley-Archer – Gideon the Cutpurse – Simon & Schuster
- Siobhan Dowd – A Swift Pure Cry – David Fickling Books
- Charlie Fletcher – Stoneheart – Hodder
- Ally Kennen – Beast – Scholastic
- Sian Pattenden – The Awful Tale of Agatha Bilke – Short Books
- Andy Stanton – You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum – Egmont
- Tabitha Suzuma – A Note of Madness – Random House
;2008
- Atinuke – Anna Hibiscus – Walker
- L. Brittney – ' – Macmillan
- Sharon Dogar – Waves – Chicken House
- Jenny Downham – Before I Die – David Fickling Books
- Sarah Mussi – The Door of No Return – Hodder
- Jenny Valentine – Finding Violet Park – HarperCollins
;2009
- Jeremy de Quidt – The Toymaker – David Fickling Books
- B. R. Collins – The Traitor Game – Bloomsbury Publishing
- Sally Nicholls – Ways to Live Forever – Scholastic Press
- Patrick Ness – The Knife of Never Letting Go – Walker Books
- Katy Moran – Bloodline – Walker Books
- Marie-Louise Jensen – Between Two Seas – Oxford University Press
- Emily Diamand – Flood Child – Chicken House
;2010
- Sarwat Chadda – Devil's Kiss – Puffin
- Lucy Christopher – Stolen – Chicken House
- Damian Kelleher – Life, Interrupted – Piccadilly Press
- Anna Perera – Guantanamo Boy – Puffin
- Dan Tunstall – Big and Clever – Five Leaves
- Rachel Ward – Numbers – Chicken House
- Victor Watson – Paradise Barn – Catnip
;2011
- J P Buxton – I Am the Blade – edited by Beverley Birch, Hachette
- Keren David – When I Was Joe – edited by Maurice Lyon, Frances Lincoln
- Candy Gourlay – Tall Story – edited by Bella Pearson, David Fickling Books
- Gregory Hughes – Unhooking the Moon – edited by Roisin Heycock, Quercus
- Jason Wallace – Out of Shadows – edited by Charlie Sheppard, Andersen Press
- Pat Walsh – The Crowfield Curse – edited by Imogen Cooper, Chicken House
;2012
- Lindsey Barraclough – Long Lankin – edited by Annie Eaton and Natalie Doherty
- Phil Earle – Being Billy – edited by Shannon Park
- Lissa Evans – Small Change for Stuart – edited by Annie Eaton and Ruth Knowles
- Ali Lewis – Everybody Jam – edited by Charlie Sheppard
- Gill Lewis – Sky Hawk – edited by Liz Cross
- Irfan Master – A Beautiful Lie – edited by Emma Matthewson
- Annabel Pitcher – My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece – edited by Fiona Kennedy
;2013
- S. D. Crockett – After the Snow – edited by Emma Young
- Natasha Farrant – The Things We Did for Love – edited by Julia Heydon-Wells
- Edward Hogan – Daylight Saving – edited by Mara Bergman
- Wendy Meddour – A Hen in the Wardrobe – edited by Janetta Otter-Barry
- Andrew Prentice & Jonathan Weil – Black Arts – edited by Simon Mason
- Dave Shelton – A Boy and a Bear in a Boat – edited by David Fickling
- Lydia Syson – A World Between Us – edited by Sarah Odedina
- C.J. Flood – Infinite Sky – edited by Venetia Gosling
- Natasha Carthew – Winter Damage – edited by Rebecca McNally
- Rob Lloyd Jones – Wild Boy – edited by Mara Bergman and Lucy Early
- Julie Mayhew – Red Ink – edited by Emily Thomas
- Ross Montgomery – Alex the Dog and the Unopenable Door – edited by Rebecca Lee and Susila Baybars
- Fletcher Moss – The Poison Boy – edited by Imogen Cooper and Barry Cunningham
- Holly Smale – Geek Girl – edited by Lizzy Clifford
- Sara Crowe, Bone Jack, edited by Charlie Sheppard and Eloise Wilson
- Clare Furniss, The Year of the Rat, edited by Jane Griffiths
- Giancario Gemin, Cowgirl, edited by Kirstie Stansfield
- Sally Green, Half Bad, edited by Ben Horslen
- Non Pratt, Trouble, edited by Annalie Grainger and Denise Johnstone-Burt
- Rupert Wallis, The Dark Inside, edited by Jane Griffiths
- David Hofmeyr, Stone Rider, edited by Ben Horslen and Tig Wallace
- Will Mabbitt,The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones, edited by Ben Horslen, illustrations by Ross Collins
- David Solomons, My Brother is a Superhero, edited by Kirsty Stansfield
- Ross Welford, Time Travelling with a Hamster, edited by Nick Lake
- Lisa Williamson, The Art of Being Normal, edited by Bella Pearson
- Peter Bunzi, Cogheart, edited by Rebecca Hill
- Amber Lee Dodd, We are Giants, edited by Niamh Mulvey,
- Sue Durrant, Little Bits of Sky, edited by Kirsty Stansfield
- Stewart Foster, The Bubble Boy, edited by Rachel Mann
- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, The Girl of Ink and Stars, edited by Rachel Leyshon
- Martin Stewart, Riverkeep, edited by Shannon Cullen and Sharyn November
- Yaba Badoe, A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars, edited by Fiona Kennedy
- Sharon Cohen, The Starman and Me, edited by Sarah Lambert
- Chloe Daykin, Fish Boy, edited by Leah Thaxton
- Elys Dolan, Knighthood for Beginners, edited by Clare Whitston and Elv Moody
- Tony Mitton, Potter’s Boy, edited by Anthony Hinton
- Jacob Sager Weinstein, The City of Secret Rivers, edited by Gill Evans
- Sophie Anderson, The House with Chicken Legs, Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, Usborne
- P.G. Bell, The Train to Impossible Places, Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker, Usborne
- Mel Darbon, Rosie Loves Jack, Sarah Stewart, Usborne
- Rowena House, The Goose Road, Mara Bergman, Walker Books
- Matt Killeen, Orphan Monster Spy, Sarah Stewart and Kendra Levin, Usbourne
- Onjali Q Raúf, The Boy at the Back of the Class, Lena McCauley, Orion Children’s Books