We are pleased and proud to announce the following twelve stories and authors will be featured in the British SCBWI's first anthology titled Undiscovered Voices :
Hey Jude by Margaret Carey
God's Killer by Sarwat Chadda
Someone Else's Footprints by Katie Dale
The Boy Who Fell Down Exit Forty Three by Harriet Goodwin
Ugly City by Candy Gourlay
Dark Parties by Sara Grant
Danny Baker – Record Breaker by Steven Hartley
Not Quite Me by Ian Harvey-Brown
Ogden the Ogre by Kirsty McKay
Windrunner's Daughter by Bryony Pearce
2069 by Kate Scott
An Alien Ate My Homework by Mariam Vossough
Nearly 150 British SCBWI members submitted a whopping 237 stories for consideration in the first ever British SCBWI anthology. The response was beyond our wildest expectations both in terms of quantity and quality. These selected stories are a fantastic sample of the submissions we received. The judges endeavored to select a variety of voices, styles and genre from the anonymous submissions in an effort to demonstrate the array of talent in the British SCBWI.
Undiscovered Voices will be published in February 2008 and distributed at no cost to UK-based editors and agents focusing on children's literature. Best-selling children's author David Almond will write an introduction to the book, and we will include judges' comments for each selected story appearing in the anthology. The book will be available for sale at British SCBWI events after its publication.
The selection process was extremely competitive. Though they will not be included in the anthology, we are also pleased to announce sixteen honorary mentions:
Sir Tingly & the Quest for the Dargon by Bill Allerton
Pig-boy & the Quest for the Cinnamon Forest by Tracy Ann Baines
Muncle Trogg by Janet Foxley
A Witch without Magic by Rebecca (Bekki) Hill
Ears Malone vs. the BPG by Mary Hopper
The Mark of the Thirteenth by Chloe Hughes
The Traveller's Tale by Karen Hussain
Ribbon Worlds by Linda Lawlor
Butterfly Girl by Amanda Lillywhite
Penny Post by Alexandra Page
Revenant by Christopher Rae
The Sky Crying by Anna Rubins
Hide and Seek by Lisa Joy Smith
The Kitemaker's Apprentice by Martha Stephens
Running Wild by Susanna White
Magic Down the Drain by J A Woolf
The anthology's goal is not only to introduce new, promising voices in children's literature but also elevate British SCBWI in the minds of UK editors and agents which will help to benefit every SCBWI member.
Special thanks to our judges for their hard work and for their enthusiasm for the project: Catherine Coe, Hachette Children's Books.
And also thanks goes to Working Partners for their financial support, which makes the anthology possible.
Congratulations to the selected authors and the honorary mentions! And thanks to all the members who submitted.
Sara O'Connor and Sara Grant
Undiscovered Voices anthology co-editors