The Young Quills is an annual award for the best new historical fiction specifically for young people. The competition has two categories - Primary and Secondary. Young people read the books and they decide on the short list.

This year the young people from the participating schools from around the country have chosen:  

Primary:

Billy's Blitz - Barbara Mitchelhill

My Brother's Secret - Dan Smith

My Brother's Keeper - Tom and Tony Bradman

 

Secondary:

The Winter Horses - Philip Kerr

Red Shadow - Paul Dowswell

Poppy - Mary Hooper

No Stone Unturned - Helen Watts

Buffalo Soldier - Tanya Landman 

The ‘Young Quills' Award for Historical Fiction recognises the powerful role that fiction can have for introducing, informing and exciting young people about historical events, characters and places.

The winners will be announced in early July at the HA Awards evening. This year the judges for the final include the previous winner Catherine Johnson, author of Sawbones.

To read comments from the young people about the books they have been reading for this year's competition:

Background

The Young Quills Historical Fiction competition is the brainchild of the HA. It is held annually, in part to recognise good historical fiction writing, and in part to encourage youngsters to develop a love of history and a feel for the period they are studying. The Young Quills is, we think, unique in that it is the readers - young people - who decide the shortlist. 2015 will be the fourth year of the competition

Why Young Quills

One of the strengths of writing historical fiction is that historical knowledge can be learnt at any age and in `many different ways, from real life testimony to fictional accounts. One of its weaknesses is that myths and untruths about historical events or people can be become just as accepted as real facts. That is why authors who write historical fiction and do it well should be acknowledged and promoted. If those authors also help capture the imagination of young audiences, making the past real and accessible they and their work should be celebrated.

That is the purpose behind the Young Quills, an award that is all about historical fiction that is enjoyed by young people. New publications of historical fiction written specifically for a younger audience are selected each year to be reviewed by young people themselves. From their reading and discussion two shortlists are made, the best of primary historical fiction and the best of secondary historical fiction

In order to qualify for the shortlist the submitted works had to conform to two criteria:

• That the children reviewers enjoyed the book and would recommend it.
• That the review contained evidence that ‘the history was good' and that the reviewer had both learnt something and was keen to find out more.