2019 Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize

Joan Aiken in 1984.

The winner of the 2019 Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, named for the late sff author, was announced August 5:

  • The Map of Lost Lands by Lucy Steeds

Publisher A.M. Heath and Lizza Aiken, Aiken’s daughter, launched the competition in 2017 to find a standout new voice in middle grade children’s fiction. Serving as judges for the 2019 prize were Julia Churchill, children’s book agent at A.M. Heath, and Lizza Aiken. This is the second time the award has been given.

Julia Churchill said, “Our shortlist gave us clever concepts, adventure, brave children and wonderful other worlds. Lucy’s The Map of Lost Lands is whimsical, funny, warm and surprising, about a girl finding her disappeared homeland. It’s got pace, originality and confidence. I love it.”

Lizza Aiken added, “Once you have immersed yourself in the world of a book it stays with you – as Joan Aiken said, ‘once a story is written it goes on happening.’ All of our shortlisted writers created their own powerful worlds, and having spent time in them, it was very difficult to choose just one. So thank you to all of you for sharing them, and to everyone else who took part – keep on writing!”

The goal of the award is to find “a standout junior novel. It could be contemporary or fantastical, it could have the makings of a series, or be one crystalline stand-alone. We know we’re setting the bar high. We hope to find a book that will be in print in fifty years, as Joan achieved with the Wolves series – and many more of her books.”

2019 Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize Shortlist

Joan Aiken

The 2019 finalists for the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, named for the late sff author, were revealed July 29. Publisher A.M. Heath and Lizza Aiken, Aiken’s daughter, launched the competition in 2017 to find a standout new voice in middle grade children’s fiction. This is the second time the award will be given.

Shortlist

  • Fiona Longmuir – The Museum of Emily
  • Pippa Lewis – The Glass Butterfly
  • Andrea Fautley – Frost Spell
  • Lucy Steeds – The Map of Lost Lands
  • Louisa Cowell – The Second Snowfall

The judges for the prize are Julia Churchill, children’s book agent at A.M. Heath, and Lizza Aiken, daughter of Joan Aiken and curator of her Estate. They considered over 400 submissions.

Julia Churchill said, “The response was brilliant. As ever, it was such a fun process, there’s so much talent out there. This year’s shortlist is packed with great concepts and heart, voice and freshness. Lizza and I will spend the next week or so working out our winner. It will not be easy.”

Lizza Aiken commented “It is fascinating to see how new writers have been influenced by Joan Aiken’s books – either in their use of locations, or imaginary worlds, or in descriptions of the special relationships formed by friends in difficult situations. Our shortlist shows some real talent – it’s just tantalising not to have seen how all the stories end!”

Apart from Aiken’s general comment, whether any of these are genre books is unknown, as no description of the stories was included in the announcement.

The goal of the award is to find “a standout junior novel. It could be contemporary or fantastical, it could have the makings of a series, or be one crystalline stand-alone. We know we’re setting the bar high. We hope to find a book that will be in print in fifty years, as Joan achieved with the Wolves series – and many more of her books.”

2017 Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize Shortlist

The finalists for the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, named for the late sff author, were revealed August 28. Publisher A.M. Heath and Lizza Aiken, Aiken’s daughter, launched the competition to find a standout new voice in middle grade children’s fiction.

The finalists are:

  • Susan Bailey-Sillick – Snow Foal
  • Tim Ellis – The Awful Orphanage
  • Nizrana Farook – The Thief of Serendib
  • Sophie Kirtley – Hartboy
  • Caroline Murphy – The Truth about Chickens
  • Nicola Penfold – Return to the Wild

It is unknown whether any of these are genre books as no description of the stories was included in the announcement.

The judges for the prize are Julia Churchill, children’s book agent at A.M. Heath, and Lizza Aiken, daughter of Joan Aiken and curator of her Estate. They considered over 350 submissions.

Julia Churchill commented:

As we knew we would, we’ve had such a warm and enthusiastic reception to this prize. Joan Aiken has a special place in so many people’s imaginations. Our shortlist is made up of gritty stories with heart and voice, swashbuckling adventures with very different settings, and spins we haven’t seen before, and big ideas with confident handling. This is a very strong shortlist. I think judging the winner, in the next couple of weeks, will be a challenge.

Joan Aiken was the prizewinning writer of over a hundred books for young readers and adults. Her best-known series was ‘The Wolves Chronicles’, of which the first book The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was awarded the Lewis Carroll prize. Aiken was decorated with an MBE for her services to children’s books.

The award winner will be announced September 14. The winner will receive £1,000 and a full set of ‘The Wolves Chronicles’.