The winners of the 2001 Nestles Smarties Book Prizes were announced last month. Gold Awards went to Eva Ibbotson for Journey to the River Sea (Macmillan); Emily Smith for The Shrimp (Corgi); and Catherine and Laurence Anholt for Chimp and Zee (Frances Lincoln). Silver: Chris Wooding for The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray (Scholastic); Raymond Briggs for Ug (Cape); and Mick Inkpen for Kipper's A—Z (Hodder). Bronze: Geraldine McCaughrean for The Kite Rider (Oxford); Lauren Child for What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean? (Orchard); and Sarah Dyer for Five Little Fiends (Bloomsbury).
Four books have been nominated for the Whitbread Children's Book Prize, to be announced on January 22. They are Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl (Puffin); Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea (Macmillan); Terry Jones's The Squire and His Lady (Pavilion); and Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass (Scholastic).
The winner of the 2001 Eleanor Farjeon Prize for a distinguished contribution to children's books is Amelia Edwards, art director and cofounder of Walker Books. Edwards was nominated for her contribution to Walker Books, where in her role as art director since 1978 she has been responsible for fashioning the original look of so many Walker titles and for inspiring illustrators and authors alike. Edwards is also being honored for her wider influence throughout children's publishing. Though now officially retired, Edwards still works for Walker creating new books such as, most recently, Allan Ahlberg's The Man Who Wore All His Clothes.
