Fifth edition of Alexandra Palace children’s book award launched

Readers aged 9 to 12 have been invited to vote for their favourite book from the shortlist

By Fran Di Fazio

Biblio-buzz, the Alexandra Palace Children’s Book Award, is back for its fifth edition. The launch event took place in Wood Green Library on Saturday, 14^th January.

Hundreds of young bookworms between the age of 9 and 12 took part. They will have to read six works by professional authors and vote for their favourite. The winner will be announced in March.

The launch event was attended by the competition’s 2022 winner, author Jack Meggitt-Phillips, and included a free performance by the Chickenshed community theatre.

Mark Civil, who is head of the Creative Learning programme at Alexandra Palace, said: “Biblio-buzz is a great example of how we aim, through the Palace’s learning programme and by working with partners, to offer exciting opportunities for local people to immerse themselves in culture, build skills and find creative ways to express themselves. If you’ve not tried Biblio-buzz before, then now is the ideal time to get involved.”

Thrilling adventure, fantasy and nature dominate this year’s shortlist. The selected titles are The Consequence Girl by Alastair Chisholm; The Elemental Detectives by Patrice Lawrence; Twitch by M.G. Leonard; S.T.E.A.L.T.H Access Deniedby Jason Rohan; Tyger by S.F. Said; and The Bird Singers by Eve Wersocki Morris.

Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust chair of trustees, Cllr Emine Ibrahim, said: “It is fantastic to see young people from across Haringey taking on the Biblio-buzz challenge. The initiative is a real borough-wide effort, with Alexandra Palace, the library service, local schools and book shops joining forces to provide a range of opportunities for those taking part to build skills and develop an interest in the literary world.”

The award ceremonies will take place on Friday, 24^th March in Alexandra Palace Theatre, and on Saturday, 25^th March in Wood Green Library. Young readers who took part in the literary challenge will meet the authors and the winner will be unveiled.

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