East Midlands Book Award shortlist

EAST MIDLANDS BOOK AWARD SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
The Trustees of the East Midlands Book Award are pleased to announce the shortlist for the best book published by an East Midlands writer in 2011. The winner will be announced during the Derbyshire Literature Festival, at Haddon Hall on Thursday 24th May 2012, and will receive a cheque for £1000. The shortlist will be promoted via bookshops, libraries, book groups and events.
This year’s East Midlands Book Award is sponsored and supported by Gardners Books Services and Haddon Hall, Derbyshire. The judges who arrived at the shortlist are bookseller Debbie James (The Bookshop at Kibworth) and Professor Marion Shaw. The chair of the judges, who will join them to decide the winner, is composer Gavin Bryars.
The shortlist comprises:
· Gregory Woods (Nottingham) An Ordinary Dog, Carcanet Press - Poetry
· Sunjeev Sahota (Derbyshire) Ours are the Streets, Picador - Novel
· Kerry Young (Leicester) Pao, Bloomsbury - Novel
· Paula Rawsthorne (Nottingham) The Truth About Celia Frost, Usborne Publishing - Young Adult Novel
· Anne Zouroudi (Derbyshire) The Whispers of Nemesis, Bloomsbury - Crime Novel
· Laura Owen (Leicestershire) The Misadventures of Winnie the Witch, Oxford University Press - Children's Stories
Kerry Young's novel was also shortlisted for the Costa First Novel award. This is Anne Zouroudi's second appearance on the shortlist. A full list of nominations can be found at www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk/awards.
Trustee Jane Streeter, who is currently the president of the Bookseller's Association, said: 'Once again it is fantastic for booksellers and libraries to be able to promote regional writers through the East Midlands Book Award. I look forward to sharing this really interesting list with our customers and with local reading groups.. Celebrating writers and reading in our own locality is very important for all booksellers, large and small, and this year’s shortlist gives us all a great opportunity to do just that.'
In addition to Jane Streeter, who is also joint organiser of the Lowdham Book Festival, the Trustees include Ross Bradshaw (from Five Leaves) and Five Leaves' writers David Belbin and John Lucas, all acting in an individual capacity.