The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 | Winner | £3,000
Truly Johnston for Corrine and the Democonch | Middle-grade
“The winner for me is Corrine and the Democonch. I thought this was a lovely story, perfectly pitched for its middle-grade readership, and touching on important and topical environmental themes. It is beautifully written, too, and it was this marriage of pitch-perfect story with truly top-notch writing that made me choose it as the winner. I feel it has something to offer middle-grade readers on every level in terms of story, pace and quality of writing.”
Amber Caravéo, literary agent and 2022 shortlist judge
Truly Johnston was born and grew up in London and is mixed heritage Sri Lankan / English. She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and has worked with charities in London over the last sixteen years. In 2021 Truly took part in the WriteMentor programme working with the author Joan Haig to develop her children’s novel. In 2022 she was selected to join the Penguin #WriteNow programme. Truly is newly represented by Lauren Gardner of Bell Lomax Moreton.
Corrine and the Democonch is Truly’s first novel and it is aimed at a middle-grade readership. When Corrine discovers tiny shell-dwelling people on the beach (the Democonch) it opens the door to a new world but also shines a light on the precarious relationship between humans and other species. The story is inspired by Truly’s trips from London to visit family at the seaside as a child and the joy of playing with her niece and nephew.
“I loved all the details like how the Democonch spin their clothes from sea spiders’ string.”
The Junior Judges
Read the opening of Corrine and the Democonch by Truly Johnston
The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Shortlisted
Carmen Wittmeier for Beautiful Whisper | Picture book
“Absolutely charming. I loved the concept and the poetry of the writing. It’s extraordinarily beautiful and accomplished, while also totally unique.”
Amber Caravéo, literary agent and 2022 shortlist judge.
Carmen Wittmeier lives in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). After completing her MA in English, Carmen taught literature at Langara College in Vancouver. She is currently an editor, while working on 50 books and short stories of her own. Carmen won the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize in 2021 for her short story Walls, and has been a finalist in both the CANSCAIP Writing for Children Competition and the Writer’s Union of Canada Short Prose Competition.
Beautiful Whisper was inspired by her two daughters, who are both passionate about words. Their home is crammed with books and other random collections, which have included 20 birds and the 200 praying mantises that hatched, early one morning, on the coffee maker.
“I loved how each group of words lived, like “swoop” and “fluttering” living in birdcages and perching on the branch the girl made for them.”
The Junior Judges
Read the opening pages of Beautiful Whisper by Carmen Wittmeier
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Shortlisted
Hannah H Lin for Niniko’s Shop of Pure Essences | Middle-grade
“This story is so well imagined. The author has clearly worked out every last detail so that, as a reader, you totally believe in the world they’ve created. It generates a wonderful immersive experience for its middle-grade audience.”
Amber Caravéo, literary agent and 2022 shortlist judge
Hannah H Lin is an immunologist who works at Oxford University doing research on autoimmune disease. She was born in Taiwan and grew up in New Zealand, where she used to send hand-written stories to publishers as a kid, and received wonderfully kind rejections by editors who clearly didn’t wish to hurt her feelings. She moved to the UK many years ago as a PhD student in Oncology and has since settled here with her Greek rescue dog and her found family. She is represented by agent Zoë Plant at The Bent Agency.
The idea for Niniko’s Shop of Pure Essences came from Hannah’s struggles to understand the world full of cruelty and indifference, yet it is in the darkest corners that the most astounding acts of human bravery can be found. She is most inspired by the heroes who defy social norms to stand up for vulnerable creatures who can’t fight for themselves, such as the Greek hero from whom she adopted her dog.
“I thought this was really unique. It’s the story of Niniko, who collects extracts of emotions for her family’s essence shop in Catacomb City. When a mysterious stranger starts stockpiling essences for her own evil ends Niniko must find a way restore equilibrium.”
The Junior Judges
Read the opening page of Niniko’s Shop of Pure Essences by Hannah H Lin
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Shortlisted
William Yamaguchi Dobson for The Daring Misadventures of Hiroto Okami | Middle-grade
“This is so much fun for younger middle-grade readers. A highly original idea, full of pace and action.”
Amber Caravéo, literary agent and 2022 shortlist judge
William Yamaguchi Dobson was born in Japan, where he read a lot of manga and spent holidays at his grandparents’ apple farm in Nagano. His dream of being a pitcher for the Yakult Swallows baseball team never transpired; instead, he moved to England and practised as a barrister. Now, as a recovering lawyer, he’s reinventing himself as a writer of children’s fiction, stage and screenplays. His writing has listed in Undiscovered Voices ’22, The Commonwealth Short Story Prize and WriteMentor’s Novel Award. Some of his short plays have been performed in theatres and online.
Inspired by Japanese folklore and Kurosawa films, The Daring Misadventures of Hiroto Okami tells the tale of a boy shepherded by a ninja to his homeland for the first time, capturing the cultural shock he experiences in as anarchic a way as permissible. William’s mantras while writing the book were “switch off adult logic” and “make it fun”. Due to an oath of secrecy, he can neither confirm nor deny if has worked as a ninja for nefarious organisations.
“A fast and funny story about a boy who finds a ninja in his soup who takes him on a time-travelling adventure to a version of Japan where monkeys have evolved to speak, read and write.”
The Junior Judges
Read the opening pages of The Daring Misadventures of Hiroto Okami by William Yamaguchi Dobson
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Shortlisted
Kathryn Clark for The Other Side of Normal | Young adult
“Such a unique and deeply moving story! I think the verse makes it all the more powerful and compelling, and also gives the story great pace.”
Amber Caravéo, literary agent and 2022 shortlist judge
Kathryn Clark is a writer and mentor living in Gloucestershire. She has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and her short fiction has been published in anthologies and magazines. A previous novel won the Arvon Opening Chapter Contest and was longlisted in the Times Chicken House and Mslexia Children’s Awards.
The Other Side of Normal is the story of Chloe who, in denial about her jailed mother’s guilt, struggles to find her own ‘normal’ in an unfamiliar world.
“I loved the gripping uncovering of what Chloe’s mother did to her throughout the book; you always wanted to know what would be revealed next.”
The Junior Judges
Read the opening pages of The Other Side of Normal by Kathryn Clark
The recipient of The Cornerstones PWA Prize for most promising Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 longlisted manuscript is LOUISE AUSTIN for The Undead Journals of Alex Abbott.
“The choice has been really hard. The writing standard is high, all have wonderful concepts. My favourite has to be The Undead Journals of Alex Abbott. Funny middle-grade is always popular. Alex’s voice is upbeat, fresh and I like the vampire quest at its heart. I think the middle-grade audience will love it.”
Helen Corner-Bryant, founder and director of Cornerstones Literary Consultancy
Louise wins a place on the Edit Your Novel course from the editors at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy in collaboration with Professional Writing Academy.
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Longlist
| Apprentice Guide to Fairyside | Marianna Shek |
| Beautiful Whisper | Carmen Wittmeier |
| Birdgirl of The Galápagos | Alison Padley-Woods |
| Blood of Gods and Girls | Katja Kaine |
| Corrine and the Democonch | Truly Johnston |
| Daisy and the Dark | Beth Tomlin |
| Everything That Came After | Rosie Hopegood |
| Flea and the Land of Smoke | Kim Hart |
| Homesick | Alex Ivey |
| In His Memory | Rachael Scotson |
| Niniko's Shop of Pure Essences | Hannah H Lin |
| The Boggle Spotter | Catherine Rosevear |
| The Child Bred of Light | Mónica Ibarra Parle |
| The Daring Misadventures of Hiroto Okami | William Yamaguchi Dobson |
| The Light Above the Ocean | Amelia Giudici |
| The Lost Song | Bean Sawyer |
| The Other Side of Normal | Kathryn Clark |
| The Sommerfell Nine | Annabel Robertson |
| The Storm Chaser's Daughter | Beth Tomlin |
| The Traitor's Moon | Henry Coles |
| The Undead Journals of Alex Abbott | Louise Austin |
Extracts from the shortlisted manuscripts
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Judge
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Shortlist Announcement
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 Longlist Announcement
