Tag: RED Book Award

RED Book Award

RED Book Award

The RED Book Award is Falkirk Council’s Book Award in which each secondary school in the authority participate. RED stands for Read, Enjoy, Debate and is all about reading for enjoyment and stimulating lively debate about books. https://twitter.com/readenjoydebate?lang=en

The award is now in its 12th year. This year’s shortlist is:

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird

Boy X by Dan Smith

Hell and High Water by Tanya Landman

13 and 14-year-olds from English classes in Bo’ness Academy, Braes High, Denny High, Falkirk High, Graeme High, Grangemouth High, Larbert High and St. Mungo’s High as well as reading groups in Polmont Young Offenders Institute and from a variety of countries take part. The young people read the 4 shortlisted titles, vote for their favourite book and produce a creative interpretation of one of the books for the award ceremony.

The Books

The shortlist of books is decided after lengthy debate by school and public librarians, young people feed in their opinions to the debate too. The criteria include books must be available in paperback, the author is available to attend the award ceremony and the books must have the wow factor.

The young people decide the winning book through a secret vote a few weeks before the award ceremony. The winner is revealed by opening the red envelope at the close of the big day!

Key Dates

April – August: A longlist of books is read from which the shortlist is agreed.

September – April: Young people read, enjoy and debate the books.

April: Pupils vote for their favourite book.

May: The RED Book Award ceremony held at the Falkirk Town Hall FTH

The RED Book Award Ceremony

Around 250 young people and invited guests pack into the Falkirk Town Hall to participate in the RED Book Award ceremony. Participants are encouraged to wear a red accessory and there are prizes (sponsored by Bright Red Books, www.brightredpublishing.co.uk) throughout the event for winners of the book review competition (sponsored by Palimpsest, www.palimpsest-bp.co.uk), a book cover design competition and best red accessory. The day is full of energy and fun and packed with a host of activities – from book signings and chatting with the authors to creative interpretations of the books and live entertainment by the young people.

The ceremony culminates in the opening of the red envelope to reveal the winning book.

Follow the RED on twitter.

Previous winners and shortlists:

RED 11 (2016-2017 award): 13 Hours by Narinder Dhami

Nominated:

  • The Apple Tart of Hope Sarah M Fitzgerald
  • The Year of the Rat Clare Furniss
  • Devil You Know Cathy MacPhail

RED 10 (2015-2016 award): Mind Blind by Lari Don

Nominated:

  • Beneath Gill Arbuthnot
  • Salvage Keren David
  • Inflicted Ria Frances

RED 9 (2014-2015 award): Raining Fire by Alan Gibbons

Nominated:

  • Rat Runners Oisin McGann
  • Mosi’s War Cathy MacPhail
  • Soul Shadows Alex Woolf

RED 8 (2013-2014 award): Slated byTeri Terry

Nominated:

  • Mortal Chaos Matt Dickinson
  • Torn David Massey
  • Mr Creecher Chris Priestly

RED 7 (2012-2013 award): An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons

Nominated:

  • My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece Annabel Pitcher
  • Gladiator Simon Scarrow
  • Blood Red Road Moira Young

RED 6 (2011-12 award): Wasted by Nicola Morgan

Nominated:

  • Ausländer Paul Dowswell
  • Koh Tabu Ann Kelley
  • Black Out Sam Mills
  • Timeriders Alex Scarrow

RED 5 (2010-11 award): Grass by Cathy MacPhail

Nominated:

  • Wolfcry Julia Golding
  • Colony J A Henderson
  • Chalkline Jane Mitchell
  • Deathwatch Nicola Morgan

RED 4 (2009-10 award): Divided City by Theresa Breslin

Nominated:

  • Don’t Tell Sandra Glover
  • Beast Ally Kennan
  • Forged in the Fire Ann Turnbull

RED 3 (2008-09 award): Worse Than Boys by Cathy MacPhail

Nominated:

  • Message from Mia Sandra Glover
  • Bunker 10 J A Henderson Fearless Tim Lott
  • Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea Michael Morpurgo

RED 2 (2007-08 award): Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie

Nominated:

  • The Ice Cream Con Jimmy Docherty
  • Ostrich Boys Keith Gray
  • Strangled Silence Oisin McGann
  • Spider Linda Strachan

RED 1 (2006-07 award): Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

Nominated:

  • The Star of Kazan Eva Ibbotson
  • Airborn Kenneth Oppel
  • Tamar Mal Peet
  • Montmorency Eleanor Updale

RED Book Award

 Bo'ness Ac (15)

The RED Book Award is run by the Learning Resource Service 

The shortlist for this year’s RED Book Award was:

Beneath by Gill Arbuthnot

Salvage by Keren David

Mind Blind by Lari Don

Inflicted by Ria Frances

All great books which had that important wow factor.

The RED award ceremony took place on 29/1/16 at the Falkirk Town Hall. 250 young people attended from every secondary school in Falkirk Council. Each school provides a creative interpretation of one of the shortlisted books. The authors enjoy watching their readers deliver their opinion of the books through powerpoint and drama. There was an opportunity for the young people to meet and talk to the authors at the signing table and during the question & answer session. During the ceremony groups of pupils acted as journalists, photographers and a media group interviewed authors and participants for their school radio broadcast and filmed the event. Everyone is encouraged to wear a red accessory which contributes to the fun and energy of the day. It was a wonderful event – a celebration of books and reading culminating in the opening of the red envelope to reveal he winner of the RED Book Award. The winner is Mind Blind by Lari Don.

This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the RED Book Award and to acknowledge this milestone, 10 schools across the world were invited to participate in the Book Award. Copies of the shortlisted books were sent to them and some Falkirk Council pupils were able to skype the young people in other countries to discuss the books. The countries taking part were Australia, China (2 schools), Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.

A quilt, featuring all previous RED winners and material from the countries who took part, was made by Anne Ngabia, school librarian at Grangemouth High School, and will act as a fabulous legacy for the RED Book Award.

 

 

 

RED Book Award

 

The RED Book Award is Falkirk Council’s book award for 13 and 14 year olds and has been running since 2006. 

In April each year members of the RED Book Award committee read and reduce a long list of books from nominated titles to the 4 shortisted books which have that WOW factor. The books also have to be published in paperback in the previous year and the authors must agree to attend the award ceremony in Falkirk in January. Multiple copies of the shortlisted titles are sent out to each High School librarian in August and the RED Book Award journey of reading enjoying and debating begins.

This year’s shortlist is:

Raining Fire by Alan Gibbons

Rat Runners by Oisin McGann

Mosi’s War by Cathy MacPhail

Soul Shadows by Alex Woolf

The award ceremony  The 300 young people and invited guests take part in this event which is full of energy and passion! The young people present a creative interpretation of the shortlisted books, senior pupils act as reporters on the day working with the Council’s Press Office, a local school radio station SMFM (St Mungo’s High School) produce a radio broadcast of the ceremony. There is entertainment supplied by the talented young people of Falkirk Council and a question and answer session leading up to the opening of the red envelope to reveal the winning book. Last year’s winner was Slated by Teri Terry.

This year we are continuing with an international dimension. The librarian at an international school in Nairobi, Kenya has agreed to shadow the RED book award again with her reading group of children from the surrounding slum areas. The children will read the books, write reviews and will film their creative interpretation of one of the books which will be shown during the award ceremony.

“Thank you so much for everything this week. I had the best time at the RED book awards. I think having the colour red as part of things added such a fun element to the day. I really enjoyed myself, and was amazed at how good the presentations by the schools were.” Teri Terry