The CBI Book of the Year Awards shortlist will be announced today, March 13th and every year I predict which books will be on this list.
The author or illustrator must be Irish or live in Ireland, and this year’s awards are for books published in 2016. There are usually 6 awards given: the Eilís Dillon Award for 1st book, the Judge’s Special Award, the Honour Award for Illustration, the Honour Award for Fiction, the Children’s Choice Award and the Overall CBI Book of the Year.
Last year’s overall winner was Sarah Crossan for One. It will be interesting to see how many I get right!
The books I think will be on the 2017 shortlist are (in age order, picture books first – there are usually 10 books shortlisted and 6 awards given):
Let’s See Ireland by Sarah Bowie
Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
Anna Liza and the Happy Practice by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by Matt Robertson
Rabbit and Bear by Julian Gough and Jim Field
Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden (will win the Eilís Dillon Award)
The Bombs That Brought Us Together by Brian Conaghan
Plain Jane by Kim Hood
Nothing Tastes as Good by Claire Hennessy
The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín (my choice for Book of the Year)
Needlework by Deirdre Sullivan
+ An Irish language book
May be shortlisted:
Miraculous Miranda by Siobhán Parkinson
A Very Good Chance by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
The Best Medicine by Christine Hamill
The Ministry of Strange, Unusual and Impossible Things by Paul Gamble
Sheena Dempsey may be shortlisted for her illustrations for Billy Button or Dave Pigeon
The Making of Mollie by Anna Carey.
Time After Time by Judi Curtin