Indie Book Awards 2021 Winners Announced
Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie, Lemn Sissay, Ingrid Persaud, and Jasbinder Bilan amongst the winners at the indie-curated book awards
With Independent Bookshop Week currently taking place in the UK and Ireland (19-26 June), indie booksellers have revealed their top books for the summer. The winners of the Indie Book Awards 2021 were exclusively announced on Mark Forrest's Scala radio show, with three out of four titles published by independent presses.
Winning in the Fiction category is Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud (Faber & Faber), a brave and spellbinding family tale with a Caribbean setting, also Winner of the 2020 Costa First Novel Award. To celebrate Ingrid’s win, Faber & Faber have produced a special paperback edition of her book, with bright lime green sprayed edges, which will be available exclusively from independent bookshops. Meanwhile, Lemn Sissay took home the Non-Fiction prize with My Name is Why by (Canongate), a moving, frank and timely memoir by one of the nation's best-loved poets.
Jasbinder Bilan was the winner of the Children’s Fiction category for Tamarind and the Star of Ishta (Chicken House), a richly evocative tale of hidden identity set in the heart of the spectacular Himalayas, and finally, The Hospital Dog (Macmillan Children’s Books), written by former Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrated by the award-winning Sara Ogilvie, won the Picture Book award.
Honouring the paperback books of the summer as voted for by independent booksellers, the Indie Book Awards celebrate the best reads for the summer, recommending the books that readers should be taking on holiday (or on their staycations) this summer. The winners were announced this morning on Scala Radio, the official media partner of the Indie Book Awards.
The judging panel for the Adult categories consists of booksellers Tina Gaisford-Waller (Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books), Saber Khan (Toppings, Bath), Sam Fisher (Burley Fisher Books), Alice Carr (Blackwell’s, Edinburgh), and Hachette author Will Dean.
Mark Forrest spoke to Julia Donaldson who won in the category for Best Picture Book with Sara Ogilvie.
'It's nice to win a prize, but this one particularly is gratifying because I'm such a fan of independent bookshops'. Said Julia. 'I think they do such a great job. My own one just down the road from where I live is just wonderful. They have book clubs and reading groups and make lovely cake for everyone. Yeah, they do so much'
The Children’s categories were judged by Nicola Lee (Children’s Bookshop, Lindley), Mariana Mouzinho (Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books), India Chambers (Round Table Books), Gill Edwards (Little Ripon Bookshop), and Hachette author Patrice Lawrence.
Tina Gaisford-Waller of Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books, Chair of the Adult Judges, said: “Lemn Sissay's moving, but never sentimental, campaigning memoir rose effortlessly to the top spot. Guided by his case notes and his own recollections, Lemn pieces together the story of his life in care. The result is an unflinching account of the system and the people who failed him in so very many ways. As one judge so brilliantly put it, ‘My Name Is Why is exquisite, shocking, powerful and beautiful - and Lemn Sissay is an absolute treasure'.
Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud was a book that all the judges wanted to get behind and press into the hands of readers everywhere. Set in modern-day Trinidad, and written in zingy patois, it positively fizzes with vibrancy and life. Though it deals with some seriously tough themes, it does so with incredible lightness of touch and such brilliant insight. One judge said, 'I love books that really make me feel something, and this gave me all the feels!', with another saying, 'I stayed awake reading until three in the morning, sobbing my heart out. The characters are so brilliantly drawn, you cannot help but be with them every step of the way.”
Gill Edwards of Little Ripon Bookshop, Chair of the Children’s Judges, said: “The panel loved The Hospital Dog as a story of friendship and canine kindness. The more we talked about it, the more we all smiled! It became clear that we felt that the book captured the essence of the past year – with children finding warmth and community in challenging moments. The playful rhymes and delightful illustrations make for a winning combination.
Tamarind and the Star of Ishta by Jasbinder Bilan is a sparkling gem of a book and the judging panel loved the beautiful Indian setting and were absorbed by Tamarind’s family mystery. In a year when no-one’s been anywhere, this book picked us up and took us out of our everyday lives. It weaved a magical spell and made us feel that we’d been on a vibrant adventure.”
Follow the latest developments via social media: #IndieBookshopWeek @BooksAreMyBag