Celine Kiernan wins the 2012 CBI Book of the Year Award

Celine Kiernan was announced as the winner of the CBI Book of the Year Award on the 28th of May 2012. The County Cavan based author is the first to win both the Book of the Year Award and the Children’s Choice Award for her novel Into the Grey. The book tells the story of identical teenage twins Patrick and Dominic who are forced to move after a fire destroys their family home in the 1970s. The judges had the following to say about the winning choice: “this supernatural thriller brings together past and present to explore the complexities of fraternal love and the pain of loss”.

The winner of the Eilís Dillon Award, annually awarded by CBI to a first time author or illustrator, was Paula Leyden for The Butterfly Heart, a book which reflects much of her own experience growing up in Zambia. The Judges’ Special Award went to Mark O’Sullivan for My Dad is Ten Years Old, which deals with complex family and health issues and which portrays a realistic teenage reaction to difficult family circumstances. The Honour Award for Illustration went to Oliver Jeffers for his picture book STUCK and the Honour Award for Fiction went to recent Children’s Laureate Siobhán Parkinson for her novel in the Irish language Maitríóisce.

The following books made up the CBI Book of the Year 2012 Awards shortlist:
A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle;
Bruised by Siobhán Parkinson;
Into the Grey by Celine Kiernan;
Maitríóisce by Siobhán Parkinson;
My Dad is Ten Years Old: And It’s Pure Weird by Mark O’Sullivan;
Ó Chrann go Crann le Caitríona Hastings agus Andrew Whitson;
STUCK by Oliver Jeffers;
The Butterfly Heart by Paula Leyden;
Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll by Derek Keilty.

This is the 22rd year of the CBI Book of the Year Awards formerly sponsored by Bisto. “This year’s shortlist features nine excellent books which all offer young readers a rich and satisfying experience. With subjects which range from difficult contemporary issues to stories of whimsy and fun, each book is beautifully crafted and brilliantly conceived” - Keith O’Sullivan, chair of the judging panel.