Reader TTS

WE'RE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE SHORTLIST FOR THE WEEK JUNIOR BOOK AWARDS 2024 BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BOOKSELLER. Celebrating the brilliant world of children’s books and

the talented people who create them, _The Week Junior _Book Awards honour the authors, illustrators and publishers who inspire children to read for pleasure. The emphasis is on original

ideas, outstanding illustration and smart storytelling, as well as new and diverse talent.  View the full shortlist - and cast your votes at theweekjuniorbookawards.co.uk. TV PERSONALITIES

JAMIE OLIVER, SUSIE DENT AND ADAM RUTHERFORD MAKE THE SHORTLIST Jamie Oliver, Susie Dent, Julia Donaldson, Adam Rutherford, and Philippa Forrester are among the authors of the 74 books

shortlisted in _The Week Junior_ 2024 Book Awards announced today in collaboration with The Bookseller, and partners WHSmith, World Book Day, and LoveReading4Kids. The awards aim to inspire

children to read for pleasure, as a new report shows a drop of 4.4 percent in the number of books being read by children*. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts

behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter,

get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is shortlisted for his debut audiobook Billy and the Giant Adventure, which he narrates himself; Countdown and 8 out of 10 Cats presenter Susie Dent is nominated

in the Wellbeing category for her book Roots of Happiness – an uplifting guide to positive words; author and playwright Julia Donaldson CBE is shortlisted for her picture book The Bowerbird;

BBC Radio 4 host of Inside Science, British geneticist Adam Rutherford is nominated for his fascinating exploration of human history, Where Are You Really From? in the STEM book category;

and TV presenter Philippa Forrester is shortlisted in the Animals and Nature category for her book Amazing Animal Journeys. SPARKING A LOVE OF READING Launched in 2023, _The Week Junior_

Book Awards were created to celebrate children's books and honour creative excellence within the industry. The shortlisted books will be shared directly with the award-winning news

magazine’s eight to 14-year-old readers and their families via a 12-week promotional campaign. Retail partner WHSmith is offering the magazine’s readers a voucher for 20% off all Children’s

Books (excluding education) instore and online. Anna Bassi, editorial director of _The Week Junior_, says, "The 74 books on our shortlist represent an incredible range of authors,

illustrators, designers, stories and subjects – testament to the endless creativity and innovation in children’s publishing. Our judges are in for some excellent reading over the next couple

of months. I’m really excited to find out which of the books readers of _The Week Junior_ elect to win our Children’s Choice trophy – this is their chance to vote and I hope they’ll use it.

With reading for pleasure seemingly in decline I’d like to think our shortlists will inspire more kids to give books a go, discover something new, and hopefully spark a love of reading that

lasts for life." Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, comments, "In its second year, _The Week Junior_ Book Awards already feels firmly established; and these shortlists have

everything we need them to have, showcasing the breadth, creativity, colourfulness, and the sheer power of story-telling and fact-weaving that we know children's writers and

illustrators are always capable of. Hurrah once again to _The Week Junior_ for continuing to support children's books." A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day

– and the best features from TheWeek.com SIX NEW CATEGORIES The 13 book categories include six new categories this year, launched in response to feedback from publishers and reflecting the

interests of _The Week Junior_’s readers. These are: Animals and Nature; Graphic Novel; Hobbies and Interests; Picture Book; Poetry, and Wellbeing. They join the other categories: Audiobook;

Breakthrough Book; Cover of the Year; Fiction Older; Fiction Younger; Non-Fiction, and STEM (in partnership with _The Week Junior Science+Nature_ magazine). Among the shortlisted books in

the Non-Fiction category is the _Guinness World Records 2024_, which celebrates its 70th anniversary next year, reflecting its enduring appeal to young readers.  The Breakthrough award

shortlist, sponsored by the charity World Book Day®, includes Pari Thomson’s “spellbinding” _Greenwild: The World Behind the Door_; Zohra Nabi’s “magnificent” _The Kingdom Over the Sea_, and

G.M.Linton’s “heartwarming hug of a book” _My Name is Sunshine Simpson._ WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED 30 SEPTEMBER The shortlisted books were selected from more than 370 entries with the help of

an expert committee representing booksellers, librarians, literacy charities, children’s book reviewers and primary school teachers. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in

London on 30 September. Readers of The Week Junior will have the chance to vote for Book Cover of the Year and the Children's Choice Award – the overall winner of the shortlist in all

categories. Alongside them, the prestigious judging panel includes CBBC Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto; Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho; author and Place2Be ambassador Sophie Dahl;

children’s TV presenter and author Jess French; Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph, and award-winning author SF Said, who was the winner of the Older Fiction award in 2023. *What Kids Are Reading

report 2024 NOT YET A SUBSCRIBER TO THE WEEK JUNIOR? Take a trial subscription today and get your first 6 issues absolutely free. Packed with inspiring stories about our amazing world, _The

Week Junior_ will spark your child's curiosity every week - and nurture a love of reading for life.