The first Bolton Children's Book Award
The winner of the 2005 Bolton Children's Book Award will be announced on Saturday 2nd July and it is hoped that all eight shortlisted authors will be attending.
The Mayor of Bolton will attend the celebration and local young people will have the opportunity to talk about their experiences of taking part in the Award process and to champion their favourite title.
The Award logo is Bonkers about Books! and the project aims to encourage young people to read for pleasure and to increase the awareness of the range of quality fiction titles published every year. Eligible books are any paperbacks published for the first time in 2004, aimed at 11 to 14 year olds, with authors to be resident in the UK.
Almost 250 children took part in the selection process and the titles were available at schools and in all public libraries. Reading and discussions began in the autumn term and the shortlist was announced in January 2005. Schools were encouraged to run reading groups as a forum for young people to share opinions about what they were reading and selected pupils attended a workshop at the University of Central Lancashire to further develop their critical reading skills.
The working party for the Award comprises staff from the Bolton Literacy Trust, The Children's and Young Peoples Team of Bolton Libraries and two Secondary School Librarians. The shortlist is:
- Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
- Horace by Chris d'Lacey
- Underworld by Catherine McPhail
- The Lost by Alex Shearer
- Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
- The Defender by Alan Gibbons
- The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
- Avril Crump by Angela Woolfe
The Award has been possible with the sponsorship of The University of Central Lancashire, the book supplier Page Nation and The Bolton Literacy Trust.
For more information contact: Kath Morgan, Children's and Young Peoples Team leader Bolton Libraries on 01204 338121

Librarians in the North West have pioneered partnership working to encourage new readers into libraries. Time To Read is a partnership of librarians engaged in reader development activity in public library authorities in the North West Region. All 23 public library authorities in the region currently support Time To Read.