Double win for A Monster Calls
For the first time ever, the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Greenaway medals were recently awarded to the same book, A Monster Calls. This book has had an extraordinary history which is capped by this double win. The author, Patrick Ness, had taken on the idea of the book from the very talented Siobahn Dowd, who died in 2008 from cancer after herself winning the Carnegie and writing a number of bestsellers.
Also unusually, Ness has won the Carnegie Medal for the second year running; there is only one precedent in 75 years for an author winning twice two years in a row. fresh rather than copycat material , but when it comes down to it there is an inclination to play safe. The rewards for successful authors can be great because children’s writers, having a new audience each year, can expect to make substantial income from their backlist, as long as their books are successful and establish themselves in the market in the first place.
The Kate Greenaway Medal is for illustration and the book won it because of the extraordinary illustrations by Jim Kay.
A Monster Calls tells the story, for readers of nine-plus, of a boy, Conor, whose mother is seriously ill, and who is visited by a figure in the shape of a yew tree who tells him stories. The book has been a great commercial success, in addition to its prize-winning history.
The story of A Monster Calls highlights how very well an outstanding children’s book can do, but children’s books as a whole are remarkably buoyant at the moment. The theory is that this is because parents will cut down on their own book-buying and on other things rather than buying fewer books for their children, as these are quite rightly seen as essential to their education. Children’s publishing is also less affected by the ebook revolution, as those same parents seem to be exhibiting a preference for paper books, perhaps because they’re felt to be easier to share and also because the illustrations are such a big part of the appeal of many of them.
There has been a modest improvement in picture book publishing, which is very expensive because of the cost of the illustrations and the need to build a fairly large print run to cover the high commissioning and origination costs. Series are still very popular and it is harder to find a publisher for a one-off title. After the focus on young adult books brought on by the huge success of the Twilight books, there is now more interest in fiction for 9-12 year-olds.
Publishers and agents all say they’re looking for originality, something fresh rather than copycat material, but when it comes down to it there is an inclination to play safe. The rewards for successful authors can be great because children’s writers, having a new audience each year, can expect to make substantial income from their backlist, as long as their books are successful and establish themselves in the market in the first place.
