Angie Thomas won the overall £5,000 (about $7,050) Waterstones Children's Book Prize for The Hate U Give, as well as the older fiction category. James Daunt, Waterstones managing director, said the winning title "should have a readership far beyond a core audience of young adults. Ours is a children's prize, but there is no upper age limit to being stunned by beautiful writing of this visceral power."
Describing it as an "outstanding piece of writing and an incredibly gripping read," Waterstones children's book buyer Florentyna Martin said: "This book has provided an important step-change in children's publishing and our booksellers have championed this from the get-go. Angie Thomas has an incredible writing skill, impeccably adapting her tone of voice for each individual character and situation. She is a unique and powerful new voice for teenagers and adults and this book will undoubtedly be discussed for years to come."
Other category winners were The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton (illustrated book) and Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend's (younger fiction).
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The 15 writers who won the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2018 awards in literature can be seen here. The prizes, totaling $185,000, honor both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry. They will be presented at the Academy's annual Ceremonial in New York City next month.
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Laurie Halse Anderson will receive the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association's 2018 Legacy Award, which honors an author for his or her body of work that members have enjoyed reading and selling. She will receive the award at the NAIBA Awards Banquet on Sunday, October 7, in Baltimore, Md., during the association's fall conference.
Anderson is known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity. Her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Chains and Speak, were National Book Award finalists. Chains also received the 2009 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and Anderson was chosen for the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award.