Angus Book Award 2012 Launch
The 17th Angus Book Award was launched the 9th December in one of the eight Angus secondary schools, with the others following in the next couple of weeks. The S3 participating pupils will find out more about the four books and hear from the authors at mini launches taking place in all eight Angus secondary schools.
The annual event, which began in 1996, is aimed at promoting reading for enjoyment by teenagers in Angus. It gives both committed and less enthusiastic readers the chance to engage with new, rewarding and accessible books for teenagers.
The book award gives participating pupils opportunities to make films about the books, compete in art and book review competitions and to use the national grid for learning, GLOW and to share their views on the books.
The announcement of this year’s four shortlisted titles, clips of the films made by the pupils last year and short videos clips from the 2012 shortlisted authors will all be part of the launch events taking place in each of the schools.
Pupils form their own opinions about which books they like and dislike through discussion and listening to the views of other pupils. During the coming months, pupils will read their way through the shortlist, before voting for their favourite in a secret ballot.
The four shortlisted titles are: Pastworld by Ian Beck (Bloomsbury), Flip by Martyn Bedford (Walker Books), iBoy by Kevin Brooks (Penguin Books), Being Billy by Phil Earle (Penguin Books).
This year the shortlist features novels by three authors new to the Angus Book Award and the return of previous winner Kevin Brooks. Kevin’s latest novel iBoy is a gripping and gritty tale of revenge and the redeeming power of love as Tom struggles to remain in control of himself. The fog, grit, cruelty and sometimes gruesome nature of the Victorian era created in Ian Beck’s Pastworld makes for a fast paced and gripping novel. Questions of identity, the will to survive and what you’re willing to sacrifice to be alive make Martyn Bedford’s Flip an extraordinary book difficult to put down. The final shortlisted title is Being Billy by Phil Earle; Billy has spent eight years in a care home and it’s his believable character and his personality that forms the backbone of this realistic and moving story.
The 2012 winner will be announced at the award ceremony on 22nd May 2012.