David Maybury | Blog

The wait is over (it’s been 2 months!) The important who-be-whatsits have gathered and broken the news of this years winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009.

There can be only one winner, but the shortlist this year was exceptional – as I said before: wouldn’t it be great to see Patrick Ness win it all over again?! At the same time… Ostrich Boys deserves a nod and Jenny Valentine is well… er… Jenny Valentine.

Auslander by Paul Dowswell
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray
The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

I don’t envy the judges (Marcus Sedgwick, Daniel Hahn, Judi James, Alyson Rudd and Aniketa Khushu) their job but I do agree that the best book really did win!

Without any further tom-foolery from me… the winner of the 2009 Booktrust Teenage Prize is… … … …  Neil Gaiman for The Graveyard Book!