On 19th May, 5 students from The Farnley Academy got the pleasure of attending The Leeds Book Awards, hosted at The Leeds City Museum. Since January TFA have been hosting an extra-curricular Book Awards Club, reading and discussing a variety of Book Awards, starting with Leeds’s very own.
The day began with panel discussions, with the shortlisted Teen Fiction authors and illustrators, at the beautiful Leeds Central Library. These sessions gave the opportunity to learn more about the potential Award Winners, how they became writers, what inspired them, what their writing processes are. The audience even had the luxury of being able to ask the authors questions and our very own Oliwia was eager to take up this opportunity.
A leisurely walk in the sunshine through the streets of Leeds led us to The Leeds City Museum, where the main ceremony was taking place, in the magnificent Broderick Hall. Hosted by writer, rapper and world-record breaking beatbox artist, Testament, the afternoon was bursting with excitement, as we heard excerpts from each of the books and the reactions of children and teenagers, from schools from all over Leeds.
Although the Farnley students were eager to find out the winners, for 3 of them, Rosalyn, Sofia and Aryanna, there were moments of trepidation. Amazingly they had been selected to announce the winner of the Teen Fiction category. With confidence, poise and just enough dramatic pause to keep the audience on the edges of their seats, the girls delivered their lines. For at least two out of the 3, it was a happy announcement, with the book they voted for winning; On Silver Tides by Sylvia Bishop. Aryanna was particularly honoured to present the fabulous award, made by the uber amazing Seagulls Reuse, to the winning author. Unfortunately for our dedicated book enthusiasts, the same couldn’t be said for the teen Graphic Novel, with Young Hag by Isabel Greenberg stealing the top spot. All had been rooting for Home Body by Theo Parish.
But the sadness didn’t last for long, armed with freshly purchased books (who can ever be glum, when you have new books), they braved the author queues to meet the people who had made a connection, touched or inspired them somehow. Without doubt, this was the highlight of the day for all 5 of them, getting to exchange a few words with the authors, as well as maybe a photo or two.
The Leeds Book Awards was a genuinely brilliant day, which our students felt was something really special to be part of. One of them even declaring it, “the best Tuesday of the entire year”. So much love for books was shared amongst the 100s of children and young people who attended, not to mention the authors, illustrators, teachers and librarians, plus everyone watching the live stream.
There genuinely is something very exceptional about the world of children’s books. It is so much more than a place of books, it is somewhere where creativity, stories, inclusivity and community come together. Books are places where children and young people can find themselves, find their people, their confidence and even their voice. For these reasons alone, every book should be celebrated.
