Winner of 2022 ALCS Educational Writers' Award announced

What's the T? by Juno Dawson and Soofiya takes home the UK's sole award for creative educational writing

LONDON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The winner of the 2022 ALCS Educational Writers' Award is WHAT'S THE T?, written by Juno Dawson and illustrated by Soofiya.

Published by Wren & Rook and created for young people aged 14+, WHAT'S THE T? is a no-nonsense guide to all things trans and/or non-binary written by award-winning YA author and former PSHE teacher, Juno Dawson, with drawings by visual artist and illustrator, Soofiya. From identity and expression to coming out and dating, it aims to guide young people (and their parents and carers) through the modern transgender experience, and help them live their best lives, true to who they are.

The independent 2022 judging panel - children's author, Sita Brahmachari; secondary school science teacher, Sean Chuhan; and secondary school librarian, Melissa Craig - praised the winning book for being hugely informative and written in a way that will appeal to a wide audience.

They commented: "Juno Dawson and Soofiya have produced something incredibly special with this book.  It is a fantastic guide, not just for young people who may be exploring their own identity and sexuality, but for anyone seeking to understand transgender and non-binary issues. With a powerful charge of optimism and lived experience, it is witty and funny without being flippant, and practical without being dull. We can see it becoming an influential book indeed, with the power to open minds and hearts".

The result of this year's ALCS Educational Writers' Award – the UK's only award for creative educational writing – was announced this evening by poet Karl Nova at the ALCS Annual Awards ceremony at the Goldsmiths' Centre in London. Juno Dawson and Soofiya share prize money of £2,000.

Two runners-up were also announced at the ceremony. MUSICAL TRUTH: A MUSICAL JOURNEY THROUGH MODERN BLACK BRITAIN, by Jeffrey Boakye and illustrated by Ngadi Smart, was praised as, "an extraordinary read, which made our hearts sing" by the judges. THE PLACE FOR ME: STORIES ABOUT THE WINDRUSH GENERATION, by KN Chimbiri, Kevin George, Salena Godden, Judy Hepburn, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Jermain Jackman, Kirsty Latoya, Katy Massey, EL Norry, Quincy the Comedian, Dame Floella Benjamin, and illustrator, Joelle Avellino. The judges called the collection "an invaluable resource which encourages young people to consider the power of their own voices". THE PLACE FOR ME was produced in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives so as a prize for being a runner-up, ALCS donated £500 to the Black Cultural Archives.

Further information about the winning author and illustrator can be found below. The 2022 award focused on books for children within the 11–18-year-old age bracket, published in 2020 and 2021. WHAT'S THE T?  beat off strong competition from the five other titles shortlisted for this year's award. They are:

• MUSICAL TRUTH: A Musical Journey through Modern Black Britain, written by Jeffrey Boakye and illustrated by Ngadi Smart (Faber & Faber)
• A REBEL IN AUSCHWITZ: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Fought the Nazis From Inside the Camp, written by Jack Fairweather (Scholastic)
• THE ART OF DRAG, written by Jake Hall and illustrated by Sofie Birkin, Helen Li & Jasyot Singh Hans (Nobrow)
• SILENCE IS NOT AN OPTION: You Can Impact the World for Change, written by Stuart Lawrence and designed by Richard Smith (Scholastic)
• THE PLACE FOR ME: Stories About the Windrush Generation, written by KN Chimbiri, Kevin George, Salena Godden, Judy Hepburn, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Jermain Jackman, Kirsty Latoya, Katy Massey, EL Norry & Quincy the Comedian; illustrated by Joelle Avellino and designed by Richard Smith

The ALCS Educational Writers' Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors, "to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity, encourages students to read widely and builds up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications".

#EWA22 #ALCSAwards
22 February 2023

EDITOR'S NOTES

About the winning author
Juno Dawson is a novelist, screenwriter, journalist, and a columnist for Attitude Magazine. Her books include the global bestsellers, THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN. She won the 2020 YA Book Prize for MEAT MARKET, and her first adult fantasy trilogy HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL COVEN launched in 2022, becoming an instant best-seller.

Juno, who grew up in West Yorkshire also writes for television and has multiple shows in development both in the UK and US. Her debut short film was THE BIRTH OF VENUS (BBC 2020) and she created the first official Doctor Who scripted podcast DOCTOR WHO: REDACTED (BBC Sounds 2022). An occasional actress and model, Juno had a cameo in the BBC's I MAY DESTROY YOU (2020), and a recurring role in HOLBY CITY (BBC 2021).

Juno lives in Brighton and is a part of the queer cabaret collective known as CLUB SILENCIO. In 2014, she became a School Role Model for the charity STONEWALL.

About the winning illustrator
Soofiya's design practice centres around illustration, visual identity and book design, with clients in the arts, cultural and activist sectors. Soofiya's art practice and writings aim to articulate a commentary on gender, race, politics and bodies through a DIY and therapeutically informed approach.

Soofiya has worked as a lecturer in design and arts at Universities and HE institutions nationally and internationally in the UK and Xiamen, China. Soofiya is currently an associate lecturer at UAL on their MA Internet Equalities course as well as a sessional lecturer at Ravensbourne and Brighton University.

About the 2022 judges
Sita Brahmachari is an internationally award-winning author of numerous novels, short stories and plays for children and young adults. She has been Writer in Residence for Book Trust and is currently resident writer at Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants.

Sean Chuhan has been teaching science in the northeast since 2007, working in schools across the region. He is currently Assistant Head of 6th Form at Nunthorpe Academy in Middlesborough, and a firm believer that books inspire students to explore and expand their horizons.

Melissa Craig was born into a house full of books and was a student librarian at school. Today she is a secondary school librarian, and as well as her traditional role of inspiring students to read, she believes that the librarians' role is also to promote and develop information literacy skills.

Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS)
ALCS is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers' work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity; ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 118,000 members, and since 1977 has paid over £600million to writers.
alcs.co.uk

Society of Authors (SoA)
The Society of Authors is the UK trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers. They have more than 12,000 members and have been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession for more than a century. In 2021, they awarded over £900,000 in grants and prizes (for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and translation). In all the Society of Authors administers twenty-one prizes, including the ALCS Educational Writers' Award and the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award.
societyofauthors.org

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