The importance of finding common ground and forging friendships across seemingly unbridgeable divides forms a unifying theme for the six novels for young people on the 2011 CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlist.
"In the context of a fascinating variety of settings, each novel shortlisted for this year's Medal offers a compelling narrative of its time" comments Ferelith Hordon, Children's Librarian for Wandsworth Library Service and Chair of this year's CILIP Carnegie Judging Panel.
"These writers are brave, and some might say controversial in their choices of subject matter for young people – the Spanish Inquisition; gruesome investigations into the afterlife; and the violence at the heart of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe to name but three. But the quality of their writing ensures that the big questions are always treated in a way that is both thoughtful and completely absorbing." Now in its seventy fourth year, the CILIP Carnegie Medal is the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for outstanding writing for children. It is the prize writers describe as the one they want to win.
