The Booktrust Teenage Prize has consistently raised awareness of the very best writing for young adults.
Launched in 2003 to recognise and celebrate contemporary fiction written for teenager, the prize (which is judged by a mixed panel of adults and teenagers) has in the words of former judge Matt Whyman 'fast become the benchmark for quality young people's fiction in the UK.'
Previous winners are Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Sarah Singleton's Century, Anne Cassidy's Looking for JJ and Anthony McGowan's Henry Tumour. Last year The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness was the winner.
2009 Winner
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)-This chillingly fantastical tale is Gaiman’s first full-length novel since his internationally bestselling and highly acclaimed Coraline. Bod is alive…but his friends are not. Raised by ghosts, werewolves and other ethereal graveyard inhabitants, how will Bod reconcile the world of the living and the dead? More
2009 Prize Shortlist
Auslander by Paul Dowswell (Bloomsbury)- It’s 1942 and Peter is seized from an orphanage in Warsaw by Nazi soldiers, only to be classified as an Aryan and adopted by the prominent Nazi Professor Kaltenbach. Peter is expected to perfectly embody the values of the regime, but he has his own ideas on how to undermine its horrific pursuit of perfection. More
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray (Definitions)-Left despondent after the funeral of their friend Ross, three friends – Kenny, Sim and Blake – steal Ross’ ashes and embark on an epic journey in search of a more fitting memorial. Described as a 'modern classic' (Jake Hope, The Bookseller), this tale explores deep friendship and devastating loss. More
The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine (HarperCollins)- Intrigue and eerie mystery lie at the heart of Grant’s captivating debut novel, which entwines ancient German folklore with contemporary life-changing tragedy. The disappearance of ten-year-old Katharina reduces the small German town of Bad Munstereifel to panic. Only young Pia is determined to discover the truth. More
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Walker)-The second sci-fi fantasy novel in the ‘Chaos Walking’ trilogy and sequel to the Booktrust Teenage Prize-winning The Knife of Never Letting Go, this fast-paced thriller continues the adventures of Todd and Viola. Fuelled by tension and mistrust, the pair find themselves on opposites sides of a civil war in this work of dystopian fiction. More
Other 2009 Longlisted
Tales of Terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley (Bloomsbury)
Numbers by Rachel Ward (Chicken House)
Furnace: Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith (Faber)
Three Ways to Snog an Alien by Graham Joyce (Faber)
Bloodchild by Tim Bowler (Oxford University Press)
Solitaire by Bernard Ashley (Usborne)
Exposure by Mal Peet (Walker)
2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize Winner - Patrick Ness
2007 judges Angela Wilkinson, librarian (Chair) Tom Gatti, associate editor, Times Books Anthony McGowan, author Isabelle Ellis-Cockcroft, school student
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Walker)- Winner
Imagine you're the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don't fit in with their plans... Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run. More
About the Author
Patrick Ness is the author of two other critically acclaimed works of fiction, The Crash of Hennington and Topics About Which I Know Nothing. An award-winning novelist, he has also written for Radio 4, the Sunday Telegraph and is currently a literary critic for the Guardian. This is his first book for young adults. More - Patrick Ness's Diary | Interview with Patrick Ness in the Times
2008 Prize Other Shortlisted
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
A thrillingly exciting, action-packed novel about a boy destined to be a hero of the French Revolution. The story of a remarkable boy called Yann Margoza; Tetu the dwarf, his friend and mentor; Sido, unloved daughter of a foolish Marquis... MoreAbout the Author
Sally Gardner trained at art college and went on to work in the theatre, winning awards for her costume designs for some notable productions. After her twin daughters and her son were born she started to illustrate children's books, and then turned to writing. She lives in North London.
Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz (Walker)
Splashing down off the coast of Australia, Alex is soon working undercover - this time for ASIS, the 
Australian Secret Service - on a mission to infiltrate the criminal underworld of South-East Asia: the ruthless world of the Snakehead. Faced with an old enemy and troubled by his own past, Alex is caughtbetween two secret services. More
About the Author
Anthony Horowitz is the creator of the phenomenal Alex Rider books and the bestselling Power of Five series and
wasrecently voted the 2007 BA/Nielsen Author of the Year. He won the 2006 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year for Ark Angel and the 2003 Red House Children's Book of the Year Award for Skeleton Key. Anthony, who wrote the script for the Alex Rider movie Stormbreaker, also writes extensively for TV, with credits including Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. He lives in Clerkenwell, London.
Apache by Tanya Landman (Walker
Siki is an orphan of the Black Mountain Apache. Her mother was killed by Mexicans three years ago andher father lost in an ambush the winter before that. When Siki witnesses the brutal murder of her little brother Tazhi, she vows to become an Apache warrior and avenge her brother's death. More
Tanya Landman runs Storybox Theatre, a touring puppet theatre for children, with her husband Rod Burnett. She isthe author of the junior novel Waking Merlin (978-1-4063-0250-9) and its sequel Merlin's Apprentice (978-1-4063-0201-1); Flotsam and Jetsam (978-1-84428-119-0) and its sequel Flotsam and Jetsam and the Stormy Surprise (978-1-4063-0280-6); and The World's Bellybutton (978-1-4063-0089-5). Tanya has two children and lives in Devon.
Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson (Bodley Head)
When Bobby's mother moves the family into a rented house in the country, a neighbour tells him that a child was once murdered there. Bobby doesn't care. All he wants is to get back to Dublin and to resume his wild life there, stealing from the crowded shopping streets and racing stolen cars at night. More
About the Author
Kate Thompson is one of the most exciting authors writing for young people today for she is a born storyteller, highly original and thought provoking in her ideas. She has travelled widely in the USA and India and studied law in London. After living in County Clare, she moved to Kinvara in County Galway and it was there that she discovered her passion for playing the fiddle.She is now an accomplished player and also has a great interest in restoring instruments. Kate is a multi-award winning author and the only author to win the Children's Books Ireland Bisto Book of the Year award four times. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Knife That Killed Me by Anthony McGowan (Definitions)
When Paul ends up delivering a message from Roth to the leader of a gang at a nearby school, it fuels a rivalry with immediate consequences. Paul attempts to distance himself from the feud, but when Roth hands him a knife, it both empowers him and scares him at the same time. More
About the Author
Anthony McGowan was born in Manchester in 1965. Educated at a Catholic comprehensive, he won't say that his character's schooldays are exactly based on his own but he certainly writes from experience. Before turning to writing full-time, Anthony gained a PhD in Philosophy, worked as a nightclub bouncer, an Open University tutor, a journalist and a civil servant. He is married with two children. In 2006 he won the Teenage Booktrust Prize for Henry Tumour, which was also shortlisted for the Sheffield Children's Book Award, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award, Redbridge Teenage Book Award and the Catalyst Award.
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Winner: Marcus Sedgwick My Swordhand is Singing (Orion).
n original interpretation of the timelessly fascinating vampire myth, and a story of father and son. In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust and despite the inhospitability of the villagers settle... More
Theresa Breslin The Medici Seal (Doubleday)
Kate Cann Leaving Poppy (Scholastic)
Mal Peet The Penalty (Walker Books)
Philip Reeve Here Lies Arthur (Scholastic)
Meg Rosoff Just in Case (Penguin)
2006 Prize
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Winner; Anthony McGowan for Henry Tumour
Hector Brunty, has a dilemma: a talking brain tumour. Henry Tumour advises Hector on haircuts, high-fashion, and tactics for snogging the best-looking girl in school, Uma Upshaw. Can Hector overpower his tumour in order to get what he really wants .. More
2006 shortlist
Siobhan Dowd A Swift Pure Cry (David Fickling Books)
Ally Kennen Beast (Scholastic Books)
Paul Magrs Exchange (Simon and Schuster)
Marcus Sedgwick The Foreshadowing (Orion)
John Singleton Angel Blood (Puffin)
2005 prize
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Winner
Century by Sarah Singleton (Simon and Schuster)
Mercy and her sister Charity have never questioned their daily routine. They live at night, sleep during the day, and see their widowed father only rarely. Then one day, Mercy is woken to find a snowdrop on her pillow. A sign of spring... More
Other shortlisted titles
The Whisper by Bali Rai (Corgi)
Come Clean by Terri Paddock (HarperCollins)
Siberia by Ann Halam (Orion)
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (Penguin)
The Unrivalled Spangles by Karen Wallace (Simon and Schuster)
Sugar Rush by Julie Burchill (Young Picador)
2004 prize
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Winner
Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy (Scholastic)
This title explores the circumstances and motives behind the murder of a child - by her friend. Six years later, JJ has now been released, and has a new identity. But is there any way that she can lead a "normal" life? More
Other shortlisted titles
Fat Boy Swim by Catherine Forde (Egmont)
Rani and Sukh by Bali Rai (Corgi)
Boy Kills Man by Matt Whyman (Hodder)
The Opposite of Chocolate by Julie Bertagna (Macmillan)
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The Dark Beneath by Alan Gibbons (Orion)
Unique by Alison Allen-Gray (Oxford University Press).
Deep Secret by Berlie Doherty (Puffin)
2003 prize
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Winner
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (David Fickling Books)
Other shortlisted titles
Doing It by Melvin Burgess (Andersen Press)
Lucas by Kevin Brooks (The Chicken House)
The Dungeon by Lynne Reid Banks (HarperCollins)
The Edge by Alan Gibbons (Orion)
Caught in the Crossfire by Alan Gibbons (Orion)
Malarkey by Keith Gray (Red Fox)
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