Author Archives: mary

We are pleased to announce that Rock the Boat has been Shortlisted for 2023 Children’s Publisher of the Year at the IPG Awards.

The Independent Publishing Awards recognise the success of the indie sector. Oneworld is shortlisted for its children’s and Young Adult imprint, Rock the Boat, for the second year in a row. The judges liked its ambitious publishing that embraces under-represented authors and important topics. Engagement with customers, including via a new website and TikTok, were excellent.

The judges said: “Rock the Boat is doing some very bold publishing and making it work. Diversity has been at the heart of everything they do from the start.”

The winners will be announce on at the 2023 Independent Publishing Awards Lunch on Wednesday 22 March.

We are delighted that Oneworld has been shortlisted for Trade Publisher of the Year at the IPG Awards 2023. You can learn more about this shortlisting here.

 

Find out more about the IPG Awards here.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks by Emily Kenny has been longlisted for the for the 2023 Branford Boase Award.

The Branford Boase Award for an outstanding debut novel for children has unveiled a longlist of 21 books “representing contemporary children’s publishing at its best”. The prize was set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books.

Chair of the judges, co-founder of the Branford Boase Award and children’s director of the Hay Festival, Julia Eccleshare said: “Now in its third decade, the Branford Boase Award highlights the most exciting new authors for children but also reflects the current complexion of literature for young people. We are excited that this year’s longlist includes such a wide variety of voices, of subjects and themes, representing contemporary children’s publishing at its best.”

The Brandford Boase Award also uniquely celebrates each new writer’s editor. Congratulations to Katie Jennings, the Senior Commissioning Editor of Rock the Boat’s Children and YA list.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks is a story about finding your voice, friendship and unlikely heroes.

The shortlist will be announced on 27th April. The winner will be announced on 13th July at an award ceremony in London.

 

Squid Game meets They Both Die at the End in this thought-provoking LGBTQ+ thriller by Josh Silver.

Read extract from HappyHead here.

The Way I Used to Be is a powerful YA debut about a sexual assault that causes Eden’s life to spiral out of control until she finds the strength to build herself back up.

Read a letter from the author below

 

Dear Reader,

It has been so amazing, gratifying, and humbling to see this book take on a new life in your hands … it is one I never could’ve imagined.

When I first wrote The Way I Used to Be more than a decade ago, I hadn’t planned for anyone ever to read it. I wasn’t sure I would be able to share something so personal with the world. I was just writing it for myself, to work through my own thoughts and feelings as a survivor, as well as someone who has known many other survivors of violence and abuse. But when I began tentatively sharing what I’d written with a few close friends, it became clear that this story was bigger than me. And I started to hope it could contribute something meaningful to the wider conversation.

I always had my own private thoughts about what happens to Eden after the story ends. But when I wrote my final draft in early 2015, I couldn’t bring myself to write an ending I didn’t believe in my heart could really happen. And I also couldn’t bear to give Eden an ending that was anything less than she deserved.

Eden’s story is many things, but at its core it’s about finding your voice, and in writing it, I found mine. In the years since, I have seen the courage and bravery of so many women during the #MeToo movement, refusing to be silenced, fighting to gain even a modicum of justice. Countless readers have also reached out, confiding in me the solace they found from seeing their stories reflected in Eden’s. Empowered by their voices, I continued to work through themes of love and hate, violence, and justice in my subsequent books. However, Eden has always been in the back of my mind. Ideas would creep up unexpectedly and tap me on the shoulder, whisper in my ear, refusing to go away. At last, fortified by your strength and vulnerability, the next chapter to Eden’s story—a new beginning—finally seems possible.

With love,

Amber