Falkirk Council

It was another great day for reading in schools when hundreds of secondary pupils and five authors met at Falkirk Town Hall for the RED Book awards 2008.

One of Scotland's most exciting children's book awards, RED was launched by Falkirk Council in 2006 and was an immediate hit with pupils and schools.

You can see photographs of the day's events in the RED Book Awards 2008 photo gallery|.

 

RED – read, enjoy, debate –  promotes reading in class and at home for second and third year pupils in Falkirk Council's eight secondary schools.

All the classes taking part voted in a secret ballot to select the best RED book with the 'wow' factor published last year.

Thunderous applause greeted the announcement that Theresa Breslin's 'Divided City' had been voted the 2008 winner. She was presented with a ceramic plate featuring the Falkirk Wheel, designed and made for the RED Awards, by leading Scottish potter Barbara Davidson of Larbert, who sponsors the competition.

An eventful day began with a series of dramatic and audio-visual presentations by each secondary school on the nominated books plus book signing sessions, a quiz, question and answer session with the authors and prizes for the pupils sporting the best red accessories.

Winner of the book review competition for the second year running was Louise Haldane from Graeme High School. 
Supporting the RED Awards again were Palimpsest Book Production Ltd of Grangemouth, who sponsor the book review competition, and Blast Off Books, Linlithgow.

St Mungo's High School team – Antony McFeat, Owen O'Donnell, Arron Duff and Jack Moran – filmed and recorded the whole ceremony and this special report for Falkirk Council News was made by Zoe Ashwood and Kathleen Sargeant, Falkirk High, and Zoe Wilson and Emma Stuart of Grangemouth High who interviewed authors and members of the audience.

And the winner is . . .

Carnegie Medal winner Theresa Breslin whose work has been translated into 23 languages and dramatised for radio and television was 'surprised but delighted' to win.

'Divided City' follows Graham, a Glaswegian teenager, who witnesses the cruel stabbing of a Muslim asylum seeker. Graham, torn by guilt confides in Joe, a fellow football fan. The only problem is . . . Joe is Catholic and Graham, a Protestant. Will Glasgow's sectarianism separate them?

Winning meant a lot to Theresa: 'Books are selfish: once you have published them, you never hear from them again. You don't know how they are doing! But coming to book award ceremonies such as the RED Book Award validates your existence.'

What the audience said

• 'The RED Book Award has opened up a whole range of teenage fiction to me. The book world is my oyster.'
• 'The RED book award day is a great experience and has such a wonderful and energetic atmosphere. It gives a buzz to reading!'
• 'A real RED reading success story for Falkirk!'
• 'The RED awards have opened me up to new genres of literature . . . genres I would never have touched before.'
• 'The awards meant I have got to know my English class better . . . constructing a presentation and a drama has meant I have made many new friends.'
• 'My public speaking and acting skills have been greatly developed.'
• 'The RED Book Awards brought these short–listed authors into our lives and we were able to talk to real authors about real books in a real way.'

A celebration of reading

A suitably red-robed Provost Pat Reid told the audience: 'I've always enjoyed books . . . this celebration of reading allows young people to become enthusiastic about books. Young people are all too often the subject of bad press – this event highlights the truth – many young people want to make a difference in their world, make Falkirk a better place in which to live and work.'

Owner of Blast-off books, Janet Smyth, said 'The RED Book Award allowed me to see how young people actually interpret a book – I can now see themes which affect young people – and sometimes these themes are very different to the themes I pick up on when reading – until today!'

Ally Kennen, who wrote 'Beast', said: 'It's wonderful, very exciting and the atmosphere is just WOW!'

The five books nominated for the 2008 RED award were chosen from around 100 titles nominated by pupils:

• 'Divided City' by Theresa Breslin (winner)
• 'Beast' by Ally Kennen
• 'Don't Tell' by Sandra Glover
• 'Nemesis into the shadows' by Catherine MacPhail
• 'Forged in the Fire' by Ann Turnbull 

View the RED Awards 2008 photo gallery.|

- Spring 2008 -