From yaks named Gertie to learning how to be a lion: Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Janet Ellis join Oscar’s Book Prize’s jury to find the next breakout story for children under five
London, UK, 17 January 2022: We’re delighted to share today that stars from the stage and screen join the line-up of judges for Oscar's Book Prize 2022!
Fresh from keeping the nation entertained during lockdown with a series of kitchen discos, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, along with her mother, Janet Ellis, a two-time author and much-loved former Blue Peter presenter, will help to choose the winner of the prize, supported by Amazon, the National Literacy Trust and the Evening Standard, which seeks to find the best illustrated book for children under five.
The mother and daughter duo are joined by an esteemed panel of judges including the former Children's Laureate and award-winning illustrator, Chris Riddell and rapper, actor, comedian and children’s author, Ben Bailey Smith (Doc Brown). Completing the panel is Viveka Alvestrand, who founded the literary award in memory of her son, and Lisa de Meyer, the UK Books Country Manager at Amazon.co.uk.
James Ashton, the prize's chairman and co-founder, said: “When I look back at the winners of Oscar’s Book Prize over the years, it’s the bold and beautiful (and often weird and wonderful) stories that catch our eye, and I can’t wait to read this year’s entries which I’m sure will live up to the joyful excellence of previous years.”
Oscar’s Book Prize is currently open for entries and publishers can submit their chosen books until 17:00 on Friday 21st January 2022 to be within a chance of winning the £10,000 prize. The award, now in its ninth year, was set up by James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand to celebrate magical stories for children in memory of their son Oscar, who was three-and-a-half when he died from a heart condition in December 2012. The prize is supported by Amazon, the Evening Standard and the National Literacy Trust, and its patron is HRH Princess Beatrice. Following the submission deadline on Friday 21st January, the shortlist will be revealed in April, and the winner announced on 17th May 2022.
Previous winners of the prize include debut author Lu Fraser and illustrator Kate Hindley for their heart-warming story, The Littlest Yak (Simon & Schuster) which won the prize in 2021. Benji Davies is a two-time recipient of the award, most recently in 2020 for Tad (HarperCollins), and for the prize’s inaugural year for The Storm Whale (Simon & Schuster). Ed Vere was awarded the prize in 2019 for his picture book, How To Be a Lion (Puffin), following in the footsteps of There’s a Pig Up My Nose by John Dougherty and Laura Hughes (Egmont) in 2018, The Koala Who Could by Rachel Bright and Jim Field in 2017 (Orchard Books), The Cow Who Climbed A Tree by Gemma Merino (Macmillan Children’s Books) in 2016 and The Queen’s Hat by Steve Antony (Hodder Children’s Books) in 2015.
Without further ado, please read on for more information about this fantastic panel (with much more to follow in the coming weeks):
Once an underground rapper (known as Doc Brown), Ben Bailey Smith has turned a penchant for cadence into a medium connecting with a diverse audience of children. It is a journey that can be traced back to 2010 when he created the double BAFTA winning CBBC television series 4 o’Clock Club, which filmed its ninth season in the summer of 2018.
Combing razor-sharp rhymes and laugh-out-loud comedy, Smith developed the tools required to reach children on a new and exciting level - and his three Blue Peter badges are a testament to his graft. He has appeared on Blue Peter as both a performer and as contributor to their reviews of children’s literature and has made three appearances in the lauded spot of storyteller on Cbeebies’ Bedtime Stories. In 2016 he contributed to Sky’s countdown of the nation’s favourite Roald Dahl books and in 2017 made a cameo in the Sky One adaptation of the David Walliams bestselling children’s novel Ratburger.
Also in 2016, Smith began his career as an author of children’s books. He released his first children’s book for 2-6 year olds, I Am Bear (Walker/Candlewick), which was followed by Bear Moves in February 2019. He is also the author of the comic story Get a Move On! (Bloomsbury First Readers), aimed at 5-8 year olds, as well as Something I Said (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2021), which is aimed at 9-11 year olds. His latest book, The Last Word, also published by Bloomsbury and a World Book Day 2022 title, will be available in February.
Smith is currently writing a YA play for the National Theatre’s Connections program and continues to develop new ideas for children and young people.
On joining the panel for Oscar’s Book Prize 2022, Ben said:
‘Perhaps unsurprisingly, my love of children's books for early readers dates back to when I was being read to as an early reader of children's books myself, on through to having two early reading offspring and on into writing my own. A child's earliest experiences with reading are sacred and profound, tightening a bond between a child and the greatest tool they'll ever need - literacy - as well as an emotional bond between child and parent/guardian/carer. Books are security in so many ways and the best ones should always be celebrated!’
Lisa de Meyer, Country Manager for Amazon UK Books, said: “It’s a great way to start the year, looking for the stories that are going to inspire a generation of children to read and helping to unearth the best new children’s authors. Amazon has always been – and always will be – passionate about children reading. Personally, with a two-year-old at home, we love finding new stories with illustrations and characters to capture our imaginations, so I am very much looking forward to being involved!”
Janet Ellis trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her first appearance on TV was in a Jackanory Playhouse, opposite Frank Thornton. She has appeared in theatres up and down the country and on TV everything from Doctor Who and The Sweeney to Jigsaw. She presented Blue Peter for four years in the Eighties, where, amongst many other exploits, she remade the iconic parachuting films that John Noakes had made before and held the Civilian Freefall (female) record for some time. Since leaving, she has worked as an actress, presenter, broadcaster and writer. She recently appeared in Makes, Bakes and Outtakes, a play celebrating Blue Peter’s sixtieth birthday, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Her first novel, The Butcher’s Hook, was published by Two Roads in 2016. Her second, How It Was, also published by Two Roads, came out in August 2019. She is currently writing a third novel and presenting a podcast about children’s literature called Twice Upon A Time. She has three children, including the singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, five grandchildren, and an Italian Spinone dog called Angela.
Speaking about judging for us this year, Janet said:
‘I’m absolutely delighted to be a judge for this competition. Reading to my children was always a joy, it’s an added pleasure to read to my grandchildren now. Sharing picture books is a wonderful way of exploring the world, firing the imagination and making memories. Sophie and I have always enjoyed discovering and discussing books - judging this together is the icing on the cake!’
Sophie Ellis-Bextor shot to fame as a vocalist on Spiller's huge number one single, ‘Groovejet’ and her worldwide smash hit, ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’. Her debut solo album, ‘Read My Lips’, was released in 2001 and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Her subsequent album releases include ‘Shoot from the Hip’ (2003), ‘Trip the Light Fantastic’ (2007) and ‘Make a Scene’ (2011). In 2014, Sophie released her album ‘Wanderlust’ on her own label EBGB’s, which was co-written and produced by Ed Harcourt. It proved to be a critical and commercial success spending 3 weeks in the UK top 10 and selling over 100,000 copies.
Sophie followed this release and collaboration with 2016's ‘Familia’, which saw her return to the dancefloor with her single ‘Come With Us’. In January of 2019, with Ed Harcourt as Producer and Amy Langley (of Dirty Pretty Strings) arranging, Sophie released orchestrated versions of all her hits and past single releases with her orchestral greatest hits album ‘The Song Diaries’. In 2020, her Kitchen Discos, performed at home during lockdown with her five sons and recorded by her husband, musician Richard Jones, were watched and enjoyed by 40 million around the world. Following the performances, she released her latest album ‘Songs From The Kitchen Disco’ in late 2020 on Cooking Vinyl, bringing together Sophie’s hits with many other songs from her phenomenally successful lockdown Kitchen Disco performances, garnering further critical acclaim and yet another top 10 UK album chart position.
On judging OBP for us this year, Sophie said:
“With five children in our home, we've been lucky to have experienced plenty of the magic and well-being that sharing a great story can bring. It’s an honour to be helping to choose the next breakout picture book - I can't wait to see what we'll discover. It is made even more special doing this alongside my mother, who was always so fantastic at reading my own bedtime stories!”
Chris Riddell is an illustrator, artist and political cartoonist for the Observer. He has enjoyed great acclaim for his books for children which have won a number of major prizes, including the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal an unprecedented three times and the Costa Book Award. Chris's children's books include the award-winning Goth Girl, Ottoline, The Cloud Horse Chronicles and The Edge Chronicles series and he has also illustrated editions of great classics by Lewis Carroll, Douglas Adams, J.K Rowling, Frances Hardinge and Neil Gaiman. From 2015-2017 Chris was the Children’s Laureate and he was awarded the OBE by the Queen for his services to children’s literature in 2019. Chris lives with his family and divides his time living in Brighton and Norfolk. You can find Chris on Twitter @chrisriddell50 and Instagram @chris_riddell
