AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS POISED TO ENTER CHILDREN'S BOOKS HALL OF FAME: SHORTLISTS FOR 2013 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS ANNOUNCED

Bestselling adult fiction author Roddy Doyle is one of this year's contenders for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, the oldest (established in 1936) and most prestigious accolade for children's writing in the UK. Nominated for A Greyhound of a Girl - an Irish family saga spanning four generations - a victory for Doyle would be an extremely rare feat; having scooped the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Doyle would be one of only two authors to have claimed both prizes, thereby cementing his reputation as one of the leading novelists for both adults and children. Penelope Lively is the other.

 Hoping to thwart the veteran novelist's chances are three debut authors: R.J. Palacio with Wonder, her critically acclaimed story about facial disfigurement; Sarah Crossan, whose The Weight of Water gives a voice to an Eastern European girl struggling to come to terms with life in Britain; and Dave Shelton, with his unconventional adventure story, A Boy and a Bear in a Boat. The eight-strong shortlist of books, typified by challenging themes and epic storytelling, also includes: In Darkness, set in the horrific aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, by publishing director Nick Lake; Midwinterblood, an unsettling love story stretching across 

centuries, from award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick; gripping WW2 spy-thriller Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein; and Maggot Moon, Sally Gardner's dystopian novel which won last year's Costa Children's Book Award.

The CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013 shortlist in full:

• The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, Bloomsbury
  
• A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle, Marion Lloyd Books
  
• Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Hot Key Books
  
• In Darkness by Nick Lake, Bloomsbury
  
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Bodley Head
  
• Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, Indigo
  
• A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton, David Fickling Books
  
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Electric Monkey
  

Whoever emerges triumphant at the awards ceremony in June will be a first-time winner of the Carnegie Medal and will join a roll-call of previous victors that reads like a who's who of children's writing - from Meg Rosoff, Terry Pratchett, and Philip Pullman, to C.S. Lewis, Noel Streatfeild, and Arthur Ransome, the first-ever recipient of the award. 

Today also sees the announcement of the shortlist for the celebrated CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, which rewards outstanding illustration in a children's book - the only prize of its kind in the UK. This year's shortlist includes previous double winners Helen Oxenbury and Emily Gravett, both looking to secure a place in the history books with an unprecedented third win. Oxenbury, who won her first Kate Greenaway Medal 44 years ago, pays homage to the late Maurice Sendak in her latest title, King Jack and the Dragon, with illustrations of a boy and beasts that are reminiscent of characters in Sendak's classic, Where the Wild Things Are. Gravett, who first took the prize in 2005, is this year nominated for Again!, which features a riotous splash of bright green and red and her trademark heavy pencil typography. 

Hoping to win for the first time, a host of up-and-coming and established illustrators make up the remaining six nominees on the shortlist. Highlighting the enormous range of style in contemporary children's illustration, this year's titles feature: a muted palate of earthy crayon in Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back; rich colour contrasted with inky black and white in Chris Mould's Pirates 'n' Pistols; traditional paintwork in Black Dog by Levi Pinfold; bold digital drawings in Chris Haughton's Oh No, George!; anarchic crayon in Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb, one of Children's Laureate Julia Donldson's illustrators; and, fittingly, watercolour, in Salvatore Rubbino's Just Ducks!. 

The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2013 shortlist in full:

• Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children's Books
  
• Again! by Emily Gravett, Macmillan Children's Books
  
• Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, Walker Books
  
• I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Walker Books
  
• Pirates 'n' Pistols by Chris Mould, Hodder Children's Books
  
• King Jack and the Dragon by Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) and Peter Bently (author), Puffin Books
  
• Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, Templar Publishing
  
• Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author), Walker Books
  

The winner of the 2013 Kate Greenaway Medal will be in illustrious company; previous winners of the Medal include Raymond Briggs, Shirley Hughes, Janet Ahlberg, Lauren Child and former Children's Laureates Quentin Blake and Anthony Browne.

Karen Robinson, Chair of the Judging Panel for 2013 and Youth Libraries Group Chair elect, said: "Frequently authors and illustrators refer to the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals as the awards that they 'most want to win' - they are perceived to be the gold standard of the children's book world. Judged by a panel of children's librarians, the shortlist meetings are notoriously impassioned and long, with this year's proving no exception. 

"Masterful storytelling is in evidence in the Carnegie list, with powerful narratives leaping out and pulling the reader in. Big themes such as family death, disfigurement, genocide, and the devastating aftermath of the Haiti earthquake are handled with honesty, style and beauty.
"Meanwhile there is much to admire, ponder, and laugh out loud at on the vibrant Kate Greenaway shortlist, which features a stunning range of illustration styles in titles from the established, through to the rising stars of picture books.
 "Within these fantastic shortlists rest the children's classics of the future. I urge everyone to head to their local library and enjoy them all!"

The winners for both the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal will be announced on Wednesday 19^th June 2013 at an afternoon ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. The winners will each receive £500 worth of books to donate to their local library and the coveted golden medals. Since 2000, the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal has also been awarded the £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize. 

About the CILIP Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal, awarded annually, was established in 1936, in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919). A self-made industrialist who made his fortune in steel in the USA, Carnegie's experience of using a library as a child led him to resolve that "If ever wealth came to me that it should be used to establish free libraries." He set up more than 2,800 libraries across the English speaking world and, by the time of his death, over half the library authorities in Great Britain had Carnegie libraries. 

About the CILIP Kate Greenaway MedalThe Kate Greenaway Medal was established in 1955, for distinguished illustration in a book for children. Named after the popular nineteenth century artist known for her beautiful children's illustrations and designs, the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.

 Source: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk