Maisie Chan’s Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths—with Georgia Murray’s editing— has won the Branford Boase Award in debut children’s writing.
The United Kingdom’s Branford Boase Award honours an author’s debut novel for children and it also recognises the winning author’s editor, too.
According to publishingperspectives.com, announced Thursday in London, the award’s jury chose to honour a familiar title released just over a year ago, Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan and edited by Georgia Murray (Piccadilly Press, June 2021). The book has been named the winner of the Jhalak Prize for children and young adults, and it was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards, as well.
Established in 2000 to commemorate author Henrietta Branford and Walker Books editor Wendy Boase, this year’s jury started with a pool of 30 publishers submitting 69 titles.
All the books submitted for the Branford Boase, which uses an usually big longlist of 24 titles, followed by a shortlist of eight titles, are debuts, fiction, and all for children.
This year’s jury is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, who is the director of the Hay Festival‘s programming for children. Joining her on the panel are Struan Murray, winner of the 2021 Branford Boase Award; critic Imogen Russell Williams; Farrah Serroukh, research and development director with CLPE; and Sonia Thompson, head teacher at St Matthew’s C.E. Primary School in Birmingham.
Chan receives £1,000 (US$1,181), and she and Murray receive trophies.
