“Ways to live forever” wins Warwickshire Secondary Book Award
The Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2009 has been won by Sally Nicholls for her debut novel “Ways to Live Forever”.
Organised by Warwickshire County Council’s Schools Library Service, the Secondary Book Award encourages pupils across the county to read six shortlisted books.
The young people involved in the 2009 Award met regularly for several months to discuss the books before finally voting for their favourite from: - Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls, The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson, Just Henry by Michelle Magorian, Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce, Lee Raven Boy Thief by Zizou Corder, and the eventual runner up, Ringmaster by Julia Golding.
At a celebratory event at the Bridge House Theatre in Warwick, attended by young readers from 20 secondary schools, Sally Nicholls was presented with the Award and explained how she came to write the book. She also treated the audience to a short reading from her soon to be published second novel, Season of Secrets.
Further entertainment was provided by performance poets Dan Wilson and Evoke, who provided an inspirational insight into the world of poetry slams.
Celia Merriman, Manager of Warwickshire County Council’s Schools Library Service, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading. Young people themselves can nominate books for the shortlist and vote for the winner, which gives them a sense of ownership and excitement.
"The level of debate and enthusiasm generated by this year’s Book Award indicates that there’s a strong demand for this sort of reading opportunity within Warwickshire schools.”