Patrick Ness wins Carnegie Medal
24th June 2011 - 1:21pm
Patrick Ness has won the 2011 Carnegie Medal for Monsters of Men, the third book in his popular 'Chaos Walking' trilogy.
After being shortlisted for The Knife of Never Letting Go in 2009 and The Ask and the Answer last year, Ness becomes the first author to have had every book in a trilogy shortlisted for the award.
The Carnegie Medal is the oldest children's writing prize in the UK and is awarded each year by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) after votes are cast by librarians across the country.
Ferelith Hordon, chair of the 2011 judging panel, said Monsters of Men does not shy away from addressing the horrors of war and 'the good and evil that mankind is capable of'.
'Patrick Ness creates a complex other world, giving himself and the reader great scope to consider big questions about life, love and how we communicate,' she added.
Accepting the award, Ness said it was an 'incredible, career-defining honour' and spoke of his delight at being placed alongside previous winners including Neil Gaiman and Arthur Ransome.
The CILIP also awarded the 2011 Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration to Grahame Baker-Smith, for Farther.
The book, which tells the story of how a son takes up his father's unfulfilled dreams of flying, was described as 'a clever picture book with a dream-like quality' by the judging panel.