YA Book Prize 2015

Last week I was able to experience the glamorous side of publishing at the YA Book Prize night at Foyles in London. This amazing evening including delicious cupcakes and tasty wine, offered me the chance to meet the fantastic short-listed authors and many great people from the publishing industry.

The first YA Book Prize award ceremony was a huge success for everyone. The location on the top floor of Foyles combined a great outlook on the city with the bookshop's atmosphere. The audience was very diverse, ranging from people working in publishing, to authors, bloggers, students and a school class. They all contributed to an amazing young and vibrant mood.

Half way through the event the winner was announced by Rosianna, a famous booktuber also known as papertimelady. By now we all know the deserved winner is Louise O'Neill who won the inaugural YA Book Prize for her feminist dystopian novel Only ever yours, published by Quercus last year. I have to admit that I haven't managed to read the book yet, but I took my chance and got a signed copy from the lovely author.

The event offered me the great opportunity to talk to people working in publishing and I had the chance to talk to some of the shortlisted authors and get their books signed. I experienced again how lovely and friendly everyone in this business is and it confirmed my decision to go into publishing. I honestly cannot wait to start my first job, which hopefully will be soon.

In my opinion, creating a book prize exclusively for YA literature is a very good idea. YA seems to be a part of literature that often gets lost or forgotten about when lists for book prizes are made. One can think what one likes about YA literature, but the fact that it is read by a big audience that is not only limited to teenagers and young adults, shows how popular these books are. YA books therefore have an influence on a vast audience among various age groups. The creation of a special prize generates attention to this genre and points out its importance. Keeping in mind that readers look out for prize winners and short-listed books, the YA Book Prize offers an important opportunity to point out the most relevant books every year.

Congratulations again to Louise O'Neill for winning the prize! Congratulations to the Bookseller team for the successful night and thank you for letting me be there!