Little Rebels Award: Latest Press Release

Update: award for radical children's fiction

Key things are:

1) submissions are now open for the 2019 prize!

2) we have a new judge

3) the previous winner, Zanib Mian, has gone on to  secure a 3-book deal and a Carnegie nomination!

Submissions for the 2019 Little Rebels Award are now open. 

The Little Rebels Award celebrates children’s books for readers age 0-12 which promote social equality and social justice. The prize is administered by booksellers Letterbox Library and Housmans Bookshop on behalf of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers. Publishers are invited to submit relevant books first published in 2018. Full submission guidelines can be found at www.littlerebelsaward.wordpress.com. 

The closing date for nominations is January 30^th 2019. 

The shortlist will be announced in April 2019 with the wining announcement in early July.

The 2019 judges are: award-winning YA author, Patrice Lawrence; B.J.Epstein, Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia; Darren Chetty, Teaching Fellow at University College London; Emily Drabble, Head of Children’s Book Promotions/Prizes at BookTrust. This year, the judges will be joined by Shaun Dellenty, Former Deputy Head, trainer in LGBT+ inclusive education and author of Celebrating Difference: A whole-school approach to LGBT+ inclusion (forthcoming: Bloomsbury May 2019).   

Shaun Dellenty said, “I am looking forward to being a Little Rebels judge! Ten years of work in LGBT+ inclusion in education has proved the urgent need for a wide range of representative and inclusive children’s fiction that promotes social justice, equality and compassion for human diversity. We must nurture schools in which young people can bring curiosity to their own responses and reactions to diversity; high-quality texts are a vital stimulus for these potentially life changing conversations.” 

Winner of Radical Children’s Fiction Prize Clinches

Book Deal and Carnegie Nomination

The winner of the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’sFiction 2018 has been nominated for the 2019 Carnegie Medal. Zanib Mian’s The Muslims was published by her own indie publishing company, Sweet Apple Books, in October 2017. Since winning the Little Rebels Award, Zanib Mian has gone on to secure a three-book-deal with Hachette Children’s Group.

 Speaking about the success of The Muslims, Zanib Mian said, “Winning the Little Rebels Award catapulted me to places I never dreamt of getting to, in my career! Thanks to the spotlight the award brought - and of course, the support from the amazing panel of judges and the organisers - my book found its way into the hands of people who may not have otherwise discovered it, which led to me signing an agent, securing a 3-book deal with Hachette Children’s Group, being shortlisted for the UKLA awards and nominated for the 2019 Carnegie Medal!” 

Press Release Contact:

Fen Coles

info@letterboxlibrary.com

Letterbox Library

Unit 151 Stratford Workshops

Burford Road

Stratford E15 2SP

Tel: 020 8534 7502

Further Information

About the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award

The Little Rebels Award is given by the ARB and was established in conjunction with Letterbox Library. Full details of the award, including the shortlist and prize giving ceremony for previous years, can be found at: www.littlerebelsaward.wordpress.com.

About Letterbox Library

Letterbox Library is a 34-year-old, not-for-profit, children’s booksellers and social enterprise. They specialise in children’s books which celebrate diversity, equality & inclusion as well as books which promote social justice.  www.letterboxlibrary.com.

About Housmans Bookshop

Housmans Bookshop is one of London’s longest surviving and last remaining radical bookshops. Housmans is a founder member of the ARB. They were awarded the London Independent Bookshop of the Year Award in 2016. www.housmans.com.

About the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB)

The ARB is a supportive community for the UK’s radical booksellers; www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk. The ARB also runs the (adult) Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing. www.bread-and-roses.co.uk.