Benjamin Zephaniah is among the winners for this year’s Society of Authors (SoA) Awards, together with illustrator Nila Aye, for their children’s book People Need People (Orchard Books, Hachette Children’s Group). Described by judge Cerrie Burnell as ‘moving, humorous and lovely all at once’, the picture book in verse wins the Queen’s Knickers Award for an outstanding children’s original illustrated book for ages 0-7. Our judges were impressed by its ‘powerful message’ about people power and the importance of connecting with others.
Their awards will be celebrated at tonight’s SoA Awards ceremony at Southwark Cathedral, as two of 31 winners sharing a prize fund of over £140,000. The awards are for authors at all stages of their careers, for books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, across a variety of genres.
