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Coram
Boy, written by Jamilla
Gavin and published by Mammoth, has won the 2001 Whitbread
Childrens Book Award. The book, a historical novel set in
18th century England, beat competition from Heaven
Eyes, David
Almond, The
Seeing Stone, Kevin
Crossley-Holland and Troy
by Adele
Geras. Jamila
was presented with a cheque for £3,500 at the awards
ceremony by Sir John Banham, Chairman of Whitbread PLC.
Coram
Boy is set in both Gloucester and London and tells
the tale of Toby, saved from an African slave ship and Aaron,
the illegitimate son of the heir to a great estate. It is
also a tale of fathers and sons, lost and found – Otis and
his son Meshak, and Sir William Ashbrook, landowner and
Alexander, the son he disinherits. Jamila was inspired to
tell the story by a chance remark about the mythical “Coram
man” from a friend – once she had researched the background
to the Coram foundation “the story seemed to have been there
all along… I think I have loved these characters almost
more than any I have ever created..”.
Last
years winner of the prize was The
Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book in the Harry
Potter series by J K Rowling.
>
Click
here for Jamila Gavin profile
> Click
here for David Almond profile
> Click
here for Adele Geras profile
> Click
here for Adele Geras profile
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