Angus Book Award
'An exercise in teenage democracy… incontinent self-expression, on behalf of books and authors, was an open, shameless display.' These were statements by Terence Blacker writing in The Independent after winning this year’s Angus Book Award.
The Angus Book Award, launched in 1996 by Angus Council to help generate enthusiasm for reading quality teenage fiction, was the first of its kind in Scotland and is now one of the most established and highly regarded regional book awards.
The success of this award and its impact on the pupils is down to the enthusiasm, commitment and hard work of all those involved in the partnership between the Council's Cultural Services and Education departments. It affords opportunities for pupils to read and discuss a range of fiction, explore their likes and dislikes and talk to the authors about their work.
Most importantly, it empowers young people, as they are entirely responsible for the choice of winner. Pupils respond positively and a real excitement grows amongst pupils and staff as the reading progresses and the time for voting approaches. This all helps to bring reading for enjoyment to life and make it relevant to young people.
This year around 500 third-year readers from all eight secondary schools in Angus read and voted on the five shortlisted titles. These had been selected through a process involving local librarians, teachers and pupils, from books published in paperback in the UK during the previous 12 months.
The books are read between January and May, during which time a variety of activities are devised by teachers and librarians to stimulate discussion and debate about the merits of each book, culminating in a secret ballot to select the winner.
On the day of the award, each school is visited by at least one of the shortlisted authors. This is a high point of the award as it allows pupils to spend time listening and talking to the authors and sets the scene for the evening ceremony. The ceremony itself is well attended by participating readers, teachers and librarians, senior managers and representatives from the local authority.
One of its great strengths is that it is entirely conducted by pupils and the only adults on the stage are the five authors. Two pupils from the host school lead the proceedings, and then pupils talk about why they think each book deserves to win. Authors then talk about their books and answer questions posed by pupils from schools all around Angus. Finally, the Chairperson of the Angus Youth Congress announces the winning title.
This year's ceremony, the tenth, was a stimulating and exciting evening for all those who took part in the award. The enthusiasm of the pupils was obvious in their lively and often passionate advocacy of their chosen book.
The audible sign of so many young people's engagement in reading as the winning title, Boy2Girl (Macmillan Books), was announced was a testimony to the success of the Angus Book Award.
As Terence Blacker said, 'It’s a truly amazing event. It reminds me of why I love writing for readers in their teens. It buzzes with life, energy and humour, and is one of the most enjoyable celebrations of writing and reading that I have ever experienced.'