The Alliance of Radical Booksellers announced that Catherine Johnson's historical novel Freedom has won this year's Little Rebels Award for Radical Children's Fiction, which recognizes "the rich tradition of radical publishing for children in the U.K."
"Freedom is radical in a number of ways," said judge Darren Chetty. "It tells a story of a young enslaved man in Britain. It explores the humanity of those whose humanity was denied through chattel slavery. It subtly examines the similarities and the differences between class oppression and a system of slavery rooted in racism. It tells a story of Britain that continues to be neglected. Johnson's writing is a masterclass in the maxim 'show don't tell'--through the point of view of her protagonist we are brought into his world and yet we are afforded space to emotionally engage with the story she offers us."