Ribblestop wins children's book prize NEWS
Andy Mulligan's imaginative children's novel, Return to Ribblestrop, has been awarded the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
Set in a dilapidated boarding school invaded by a truck load of circus animals, Return to Ribblestop had 'just the right combination of warmth, originality and, above all, hilarity to give it the edge' according to the Guardian prize judges.
Previous winners include Philip Pullman, Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine and Patrick Ness.
Second in a planned trilogy, Return To Ribblestrop's 'huge cast of unusual and big-hearted characters' was praised by the judging panel.
Mulligan was surprised to accept the prize, believing no-one would understand the peculiar book.
'It is very hard to take yourself seriously as a writer when you've always written for fun. You don't really expect what you write to connect with people the way other writers have connected with you.
'I never expected the Guardian to award such a stonker of a prize to a book that is dangerous, violent, irreverent, politically incorrect, joyously sentimental, anti-adult, pro-child and sometimes bizarre - but I'm very glad they have.' The author said upon receiving the prize.
Mulligan worked as a theatre director for a decade before retraining as a teacher. The author wrote the first two Ribblestrop novels while teaching, but is taking a sabbatical to complete the trilogy.
Other books shortlisted for this year's prize were Moon Pie by Simon Mason, My Name is Mina by David Almond and Twilight Robbery by Frances Hardinge.
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