Winner of Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2024 announced!

We had a wonderful time celebrating all of the shortlisted books at our Final Award Ceremony on Wednesday 20th March 2024. We were delighted to be joined by hundreds of students from across Warwickshire and 3 of the shortlisted authors; Anthony McGowan, SF Said and Nathanael Lessore. It was lovely to hear the inspiration behind their books, their experiences as writers and many amusing tales. Students were also able to hear their questions kindly answered via videos from authors Lily Bailey and Alex Bell. We were also joined by May Vaughan, Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate who performed a selection of her own poems ending with a lovely reminder that we are all good at something and to follow our passions whatever they are. 

The winning book, voted for by students, was 'When I See Blue' by Lily Bailey. The book shares a touching and honest fictional story about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and explores the power of friendship as 12-year-old character Ben learns how to live with OCD and find ways to manage his condition.

Photo: Authors SF Said, Nathanael Lessore and Anthony McGowan with the SLS Team.

Thank you to all the schools that took part and to the all the authors for their support. Thank you to Kings High School for hosting our event and to Warwick Books for selling books to students.  

If you would like more information about our book awards or the other ways Warwickshire Schools Library Service support reading for pleasure and learning, please email schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk