Friday 27 June 2008

Gustav-Heinemann-Friedenspreis

BEAST has been shortlisted for this prestigious award in Germany. Will find out on Sept 1st who wins...
A good week!!
And congratulations to Philip Reeves for winning the Carnegie medal this year with Here Lies Arthur. I've just bought my copy... can't wait to read it!

THE LEICESTER BOOK OF THE YEAR

Yippeee! BERSERK won this award at the Guildhall in Leicester on Tuesday 24th June!
http://teenagefiction.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/and-the-winner-is/

Wednesday 18 June 2008

Highland Children's Book Award

Berserk was shortlisted for the Highland Children's Book Award. The winners were announced yesterday. Sadly I couldn't make it. Berserk didn't win but it is very nice to get shorlisted... hurrah!

Friday 13 June 2008

Behind the Beast

Beast is set in the West Country. Gruton Reservoir is a fictional place, but I took a lot of inspiration from Clatworthy and Wimbleball reservoirs on the Brendon Hills where I grew up. Here are some pictures from my notebook:


































WOW speedy stories


I have a new very short story -Free Range- in the Anthology 'WOW 366' published by Scholastic August 2008 to celebrate National Year of Reading...

BEDLAM






When they closed the asylum they thought everyone had left...





Lexi falls into deep trouble in a derelict asylum...







BEDLAM features Lexi, the girlfriend of Chas from BERSERK. (And Chas is the little brother of Stephen, from BEAST) The books can be read as a sequence, but also make sense if you read as stand alone novels.

Order Bedlam from Amazon





Berserk


What happens when there's no-one around to tell you when to stop?


When fifteen year old Chas finds a website asking people to write to prisoners on Death Row, he thinks it would be funny to get letters from a murderer. He writes to an inmate, pretending to be his mum. When his new pen-pal is unexpectedly released, Chas' already problematic life spirals horribly out of control...

Chas is the younger brother of Stephen, the hero of Ally's debut novel Beast.
"Written with a verve and confidence that never lets up"... "This excellent novel well deserves the large audience it should get." Nicholas Tucker, The Independent
Winner of the Leicester Book of the Year Award 2008
Winner of the North East Teenage Book Award 2008
Shortlisted for the Manchester Book Award '07
Shortlisted for the Highland Children's Book Award 2008
Highly Commended for the West Oxfordshire Book Award 2008
Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2008

Buy Berserk from Amazon

Beast




"I buy one pig a month. I can't afford any more. I've no idea whether this is enough, but it keeps the Beast alive. He's grown so big. I'm going crazy with worry someone will discover him."

Stephen is a boy with a dangerous secret. For four years he has kept a terrifying creature locked up in a remote hiding place. Once just a vicious litle baby, it is now a powerful predator, big and hungry enough to break free from its rusting cage.

Stephen has other problems. A mother he never sees, and a father he wishes were dead. His foster family are scare of him - he's not a boy who plays by the rules. But his extraordinary struggle to free himself of his Beast makes him a hero you will never forget.

"Ally Kennen is a gripping and original new children's novelist... I really love this book" Amanda Craig, The Times

"Beast has a tension that never lets up. Ally Kennen is already a remarkable assured writer" The Independent

"An exceptional first novel" Books for Keeps
Beast has been shortlisted for:
Carnegie Medal 2007
Branford Boase Award 2007
Booktrust Teenage Prize 2006
Bolton Book Award
Leicester Book Award
Berkshire Book Award
Winner of the Manchester Book Award 2007
Shortlisted for the Gustav-Heinemann-Friedenspreis
Published in 13 languages



Buy Beast from Amazon!

Scottish Book Trust

I've got a new story 'Rip-Tide' on the Scottish book trust website.
The direct link to the story is http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/node/19225
The story features Lexi, hero of BEDLAM...
And the link to the writer-in-residence homepage, where all the online stories are featured, is http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/children-and-young-people/books/stories