Phoenix Award
Encyclopedia
The Phoenix Award is awarded annually to a book originally published in English
twenty years previously which did not receive a major award at the time of its publication.
It was established in 1985 by the Children's Literature Association, an association that wishes to promote serious study of children's literature. The recipient is chosen by an elected committee
of Children's Literature Association members from nominations made by members and others.
The award is named after the mythical bird Phoenix
which rises from its ashes. It signifies the book's rise from obscurity.
2007: Margaret Mahy
, Memory
2006: Diana Wynne Jones
, Howl's Moving Castle
Honor Book: Philip Pullman
, The Shadow in the North
/ The Shadow in the Plate
2005: Margaret Mahy
, The Catalogue of the Universe
2004: Berlie Doherty
, White Peak Farm
2003: Ivan Southall
, The Long Night Watch
2002: Zibby Oneal, A Formal Feeling
2001: Peter Dickinson
, The Seventh Raven
2000: Monica Hughes
, Keeper of the Isis Light
1999: E.L. Konigsburg, Throwing Shadows
Honor Book: Ouida Sebestyen, Words by Heart
1998: Jill Paton Walsh
, A Chance Child
Honor Book: Doris Orgel
, The Devil in Vienna
1997: Robert Cormier
, I Am the Cheese
1996: Alan Garner
, The Stone Book
1995: Laurence Yep
, Dragonwings
1994: Katherine Paterson
, Of Nightingales That Weep
1993: Nina Bawden
, Carrie's War
1992: Mollie Hunter
, A Sound of Chariots
1991: Jane Gardam
, A Long Way from Verona
1990: Sylvia Engdahl
, Enchantress from the Stars
1989: Helen Cresswell
, The Night-Watchmen
1988: Erik Christian Haugaard
, The Rider and his Horse
1987: Leon Garfield
, Smith
1986: Robert Burch
, Queenie Peavy
1985: Rosemary Sutcliff
, The Mark of the Horse Lord
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
twenty years previously which did not receive a major award at the time of its publication.
It was established in 1985 by the Children's Literature Association, an association that wishes to promote serious study of children's literature. The recipient is chosen by an elected committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
of Children's Literature Association members from nominations made by members and others.
The award is named after the mythical bird Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
which rises from its ashes. It signifies the book's rise from obscurity.
List of Phoenix Award Winners
- 2011: Virginia Euwer WolffVirginia Euwer WolffVirginia Euwer Wolff is a prize-winning American author of children's literature, born in Portland, Oregon 25 Aug 1937. She attended an all-girls' school called St. Helen's Hall , before attending Smith College. She married Arthur Richard Wolff in 1959...
, The Mozart Season- Honor Book: Mary Downing HahnMary Downing HahnMary Downing Hahn is an award-winning American author of young adult novels. Her first published book, The Sara Summer, was released in 1979, when she was forty-one years old. Since then she has written over twenty novels...
, Stepping on the Cracks - Honor Book: Eloise McGrawEloise McGrawEloise Jarvis McGraw was an author of children's books and young adult novels. She was awarded the Newbery Honor three times in three different decades, for her novels Moccasin Trail , The Golden Goblet , and The Moorchild...
, The Striped Ships
- Honor Book: Mary Downing Hahn
- 2010: Rosemary SutcliffRosemary SutcliffRosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
, The Shining Company- No Honor Books were named
- 2009: Francesca Lia BlockFrancesca Lia BlockFrancesca Lia Block is the author of adult and young adult fiction, short stories, screenplays and poetry, most famously the Weetzie Bat series. Block wrote her first book, Weetzie Bat, while a student at UC Berkeley; it was published in 1989 by Harper Collins. She is known for her use of imagery,...
, Weetzie BatWeetzie BatWeetzie Bat is a young adult novel, the first written by American author Francesca Lia Block, originally published in 1989. It is the first in her Dangerous Angels series....
- Honor Book: Sylvia Cassedy, Lucie Babbidge’s House
- 2008: Peter DickinsonPeter DickinsonPeter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE is an English author and poet who has written a wide variety of books, notably children's books and detective stories, over a long and distinguished career.-Life and work:...
, EvaEva (novel)Eva is a young adult science-fiction novel by Peter Dickinson, published in 1988. One of his best-known books, it received the Phoenix Award in 2008.-Plot introduction:...
- Honor Book: Jane YolenJane YolenJane Hyatt Yolen is an American author and editor of almost 300 books. These include folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and children's books...
,
The Devil's ArithmeticThe Devil's Arithmetic is a historical novel written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah, a Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York... - Honor Book: Jane Yolen
Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy ONZ is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural...
, Memory
- Honor Book: Sheila GordonSheila GordonSheila Gordon, a novelist born in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 22, 1927, is the author of Waiting for the Rain, The Middle of Somewhere, and Unfinished Business...
,
Waiting for the Rain
Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon tells the story of two boys growing up on Oom Koos', Frikkie's uncle, farm in South Africa during the Apartheid era...
Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
, Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986. It won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was named an ALA Notable Book for both children and young adults. In 2004 it was adapted as an Academy Award-nominated animated film by Hayao...
- Honor Book: Margaret MahyMargaret MahyMargaret Mahy ONZ is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural...
,
Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
, The Shadow in the North
The Shadow in the North
The Shadow in the North is a book by the English author Philip Pullman. It was originally published as The Shadow in the Plate.-Plot:...
/ The Shadow in the Plate
Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy ONZ is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural...
, The Catalogue of the Universe
The Catalogue of the Universe
The Catalogue of the Universe is a teenage fiction book written by Margaret Mahy. It was first published in 1985 by J.M Dent & Sons.The book follows the evolving relationship between two teenagers: Nerdy intellectual Tycho Potter and high school princess Angela May, who despite their differences...
- Honor Book: Diana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
,
Fire and Hemlock
Fire and Hemlock is a modern fantasy by British author Diana Wynne Jones based largely on the Scottish ballads "Tam Lin" and "Thomas the Rhymer."...
Berlie Doherty
Berlie Doherty is an English novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for her children's books, for which she has twice won the Carnegie Medal...
, White Peak Farm
- Honor Book: Brian DoyleBrian Doyle (writer)Brian Doyle is a well known Canadian author, whose children's books have been adapted into both movies and plays...
,
Angel Square
Angel Square is a 1990 Canadian film set in 1945 and based on the novel of the same title by Brian Doyle. Many of his books are set in Ottawa, Canada.-Summary:...
Ivan Southall
Ivan Francis Southall AM, DFC was an award-winning Australian writer of young-adult fiction and non-fiction. He was the first and still the only Australian to win the Carnegie Medal in Literature for children's literature. His books include Hills End, Ash Road, Josh, and Let the Balloon Go...
, The Long Night Watch
- Honor Book: Cynthia VoigtCynthia VoigtCynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse. Her first book in the Tillerman family series, Homecoming, was nominated for several international prizes and made into a 1996 film...
,
A Solitary Blue
A Solitary Blue is a novel by Cynthia Voigt. It was a Newbery Honor book in 1984. It takes place before, during and after the events described in Dicey's Song, Voigt's 1983 Newbery Medal winner and Come a Stranger...
- Honor Book: Clayton Bess,
Story for a Black Night
Story for a Black Night by Clayton Bess, published in 2004, is a book about an African family whose mother caught smallpox after taking in an infected baby....
Peter Dickinson
Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE is an English author and poet who has written a wide variety of books, notably children's books and detective stories, over a long and distinguished career.-Life and work:...
, The Seventh Raven
- Honor Book: Kathryn LaskyKathryn LaskyKathryn Lasky is an American author whose work includes several Dear America books, The Royal Diaries books, Sugaring Time, The Night Journey, and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series.-Biography:...
,
The Night Journey (novel)
The Night Journey is a 1981 novel by Kathryn Lasky.-Plot Overview:Nana Sashie tells her great-grandchild, Rachel, of her escape from Russia during the Holocaust. Nana Sashie refuses to eat for a week with the intention of dying, and passes away...
Monica Hughes
-External links:***...
, Keeper of the Isis Light
Keeper of the Isis Light
The Keeper of the Isis Light is a science fiction novel aimed at young adults by Monica Hughes. It was published in 1980 by Hamish Hamilton. The story takes place some time in the distant future on the fictional world of Isis, which revolves around the F5 star Ra in the constellation Indus.The...
- Honor Book: Jane LangtonJane LangtonJane Gillson Langton is an American mystery writer and author of children's literature.-Biography:Langton was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944. She received an M.A. in art history from...
,
- Honor Book: Rosa GuyRosa GuyRosa Cuthbert Guy is an American writer.-Biography:Rosa Guy was raised in Harlem from the age of seven and now lives in New York. She immigrated to Harlem, New York in 1932. Soon after her parents, Henry and Audrey Cuthbert, died, she and her sister went to many foster homes...
,
The Disappearance
The Disappearance is a 1977 British-Canadian thriller film directed by Stuart Cooper and starring Donald Sutherland, Francine Racette and David Hemmings.-Cast:* Donald Sutherland - Jay Mallory* Francine Racette - Celandine* David Hemmings - Edward...
Words By Heart
"Words by Heart" is the title of a song written by Reed Nielsen and Monty Powell, and recorded by American country music singer, Billy Ray Cyrus. It was released in January 1994 as the third single from his platinum-selling second album, It Won't Be the Last. The song was the follow-up to "Somebody...
Jill Paton Walsh
Jill Paton Walsh, CBE, FRSL is an English novelist and children's writer.Born as Gillian Bliss and educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, London, she read English Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford...
, A Chance Child
- Honor Book: Robin McKinleyRobin McKinleyRobin McKinley is a distinguished author of fantasy and children's books who has written sixteen books to date. Her latest book Pegasus was published in 2010...
,
Doris Orgel
Doris Orgel is a children's literature author. She was born Doris Adelberg in Vienna, Austria February 15, 1929. She currently lives in New York City and is a full time Children's author....
, The Devil in Vienna
Robert Cormier
Robert Edmund Cormier was an American author, columnist and reporter, known for his deeply pessimistic, downbeat literature. His most popular works include I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, We All Fall Down and The Chocolate War, all of which have won awards. The Chocolate War was challenged...
, I Am the Cheese
I Am the Cheese
I Am the Cheese is a novel written by American author Robert Cormier and first published in 1977. It is categorized as young adult literature.- Plot summary :...
- Honor Book: no award given
Alan Garner
With his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget...
, The Stone Book
The Stone Book
The Stone Book , part of The Stone Book Quartet, a series of children's books by Alan Garner, follows Mary and her father in a time when stone cutting was the main trade. One day she requests a book from her father and he builds her one out of stone as he does not believe books and formal education...
- Honor Book: William SteigWilliam SteigWilliam Steig was a prolific American cartoonist, sculptor and, later in life, an author of popular children's literature...
, Abel's IslandAbel's IslandAbel's Island is a children's novel written and illustrated by William Steig. It won a Newbery Honor. It was published by Collin Publishers, Toronto, Canada in 1976...
Laurence Yep
-Background:Chinese-American, Yep was born in San Francisco, California to Yep Gim Lew and Franche. His older brother, Thomas named him after studying a particular saint in a multicultural neighborhood that consisted of mostly African Americans. Growing up, he often felt torn between both...
, Dragonwings
Dragonwings
Dragonwings is an award-winning children's novel written by Laurence Yep. The book won the IRA Children's Book Award and is a 1976 Newbery Honor Book...
- Honor Book: Natalie BabbittNatalie BabbittNatalie Babbitt is an American author and illustrator of children's books. Her novels Tuck Everlasting and The Eyes of the Amaryllis have been made into films . Her novel Knee-Knock Rise is a Newbery Honor book.- Life :Natalie Babbitt was born in Dayton, Ohio. Now lives in Providence, Rhode Island...
, Tuck EverlastingTuck EverlastingTuck Everlasting is a fantasy children's novel by Natalie Babbitt. It was published in 1975. The book explores the concept of immortality and the reasons why it might not be as desirable as it appears to be. It has sold over two million copies and has been called a classic of modern children's...
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson is an American author of children's novels. She wrote Bridge to Terabithia and has received several of the major international awards for children's literature.- Early life:...
, Of Nightingales That Weep
Of Nightingales That Weep
Of Nightingales That Weep is a 1974 work of children's literature written by U.S. novelist Katherine Paterson. Set in medieval Japan, the novel tells the story of Takiko, the 11-year-old daughter of a slain samurai warrior. Takiko’s mother remarries Goro, a gentle but unattractive potter/dwarf,...
- Honor Book: James Lincoln CollierJames Lincoln CollierJames Lincoln Collier is a journalist, author, and professional musician.Collier was born to Edmund Collier and Katherine Brown. He came from a family of writers and teachers, including his father and several aunts and uncles. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1950...
and Christopher CollierChristopher Collier (historian)Christopher Collier is an American historian and author.Christopher Collier, known as Kit, is the son of Edmund Collier, a writer, and Katherine Brown. He comes from a family of writers and teachers. He attended Clark University and Columbia University,...
, My Brother Sam is DeadMy Brother Sam Is DeadMy Brother Sam Is Dead is a young adult historical fiction novel by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. The book realistically depicts what happened in the American Revolution... - Honor Book: Sharon Bell Mathis, Listen for the Fig Tree
Nina Bawden
Nina Bawden CBE is a popular British novelist and children's writer. Her mother was a teacher and her father a marine.-Life:...
, Carrie's War
Carrie's War
Carrie's War is a 1973 children's novel by Nina Bawden, set during the Second World War and following two evacuees, Carrie and her younger brother Nick. It is a common fixture in secondary schools.-Plot:...
- Honor Book: E.L. Konigsburg, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
Mollie Hunter
Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith, more commonly known as Mollie Hunter , is a Scottish writer. Born and bred near Edinburgh in the small village of Longniddry. She currently resides in Inverness. Her debut was The Smartest Man in Ireland in 1963. She writes fantasy for children, historical stories...
, A Sound of Chariots
Jane Gardam
Jane Mary Gardam OBE is a British author of children's and adult fiction. She also reviews for the Spectator and the Telegraph, and writes for BBC radio, where her current project is six programmes on the suburbs. She lives in Kent, Wimbledon, and Yorkshire. She has won numerous literary awards,...
, A Long Way from Verona
- Honor Book: William MayneWilliam MayneWilliam James Carter Mayne was an English writer of children's fiction. He was born in Hull, the son of a doctor and was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. During the Second World War the school was evacuated...
, A Game of Dark - Honor Book: Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, The Tombs of AtuanThe Tombs of AtuanThe Tombs of Atuan is the second of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in her fantasy archipelago of Earthsea, first published in 1971. Its events take place a few years after those in A Wizard of Earthsea and around two decades before those in The Farthest Shore...
Sylvia Engdahl
Sylvia Louise Engdahl is an American science fiction writer. She has published thirteen books, including seven science fiction novels, three nonfiction books, two science fiction anthologies, and a children's picture book. Engdahl is best known for her novel Enchantress from the Stars which was...
, Enchantress from the Stars
Enchantress from the Stars
Enchantress from the Stars is a young adult science-fiction novel by Sylvia Engdahl. It is a 1971 Newbery Honor book, and it was given a 1990 Phoenix Award by the Children's Literature Association "from the perspective of time". It was a Finalist for the 2002 Book Sense Book of the Year Award in...
- Honor Book: William MayneWilliam MayneWilliam James Carter Mayne was an English writer of children's fiction. He was born in Hull, the son of a doctor and was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. During the Second World War the school was evacuated...
, Ravensgill - Honor Book: Scott O'DellScott O'DellScott O'Dell was an American children's author who wrote 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books...
, Sing Down the Moon
Helen Cresswell
Helen Cresswell was an English author of more than 100 children's books, including the Lizzie Dripping series, and The Bagthorpe Saga...
, The Night-Watchmen
- Honor Book: Milton MeltzerMilton MeltzerMilton Meltzer was an American historian and author best known for his history nonfiction books on Jewish, African-American and American history...
, Brother Can You Spare a Dime? - Honor Book: Adrienne Richard, Pistol
Erik Christian Haugaard
Erik Christian Haugaard was a Danish born author principally of children's books.-Biography:Erik Christian Haugaard was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He came to the United States in 1940 after fleeing the Nazi invasion of Denmark, and later served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World...
, The Rider and his Horse
Leon Garfield
Leon Garfield was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for his historical novels for children, though he also wrote for adults...
, Smith
Robert Burch
Robert Keith "Rob" Burch is an English footballer who plays for Notts County as a goalkeeper.-Club career:Burch turned professional with Tottenham Hotspur in July 2002 and spent a further five years at the club after signing professional forms.During that time Burch was loaned out to Conference...
, Queenie Peavy
Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
, The Mark of the Horse Lord
The Mark of the Horse Lord
The Mark of the Horse Lord is a historical novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1965. It won the first Phoenix Award in 1985....