The Kelpies Prize is a literary award sponsored by Floris Books presented to writers of middle-grade books set in Scotland. The award is sponsored by Floris Books.

The award was established in 2004.[1] Between 2010 and 2019, the winner received a £2,00 prize, as well as a publishing deal with Floris Books' Kelpies imprint.[2]

In 2019, Floris Books updated the award. Instead of presenting the award to an author who had already written a middle-grade children's book, they presented it to an author who showed promise in the field. As such, the prize included "a year of mentoring with the editorial team at Floris Books, along with a publication deal, £1,000 (about $1,215) and a week-long writing retreat".[3]

In 2014, Floris Books introduced the Kelpies Prize for Illustration, then known as the Kelpies Design & Illustration Prize. At its onset, the award focused on cover design. When the company revamped the Kelpies Prize in 2019, they also updated the Kelpies Prize for Illustration by asking artists interested in a career in illustration to submit potential illustrations appropriate for a children's book.[4] Winners received "a year of mentoring with the Floris Books design team, as well as a publication deal, £1,000 and a ticket to this year’s Picture Hooks conference".[3] In 2022, the award was reduced to a £500 cash prize, with 9 months of mentoring. In 2023, Floris Books paused the Kelpies Prize for Illustration to focus on their Pathways into Children’s Publishing programme.[5]

Kelpies Prize for Writing honorees

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Kelpies Prize for Writing honorees
Year Title Author Result Ref.
2008 Tarantula Tide Sharon Tregenza Winner [6]
2009 Mackay Winner [7]
2010 The Angel Ashariel Ritske Rensma Shortlist [2]
Operation Bonobo Elizabeth Spalton Shortlist [2]
Red Fever Caroline Clough Shortlist [2]
2011 How to Make a Golem (and Terrify People) Alette J. Willis Winner [8]
The Really Weird Removals Company Daniela Sacerdoti Shortlist [9]
The Resurrection Spell Roy Gill Shortlist [9]
2012 Nicking Time Tracy Traynor Winner [10]
2013 Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens Alex McCall Winner [11]
Never Back Barbara Henderson Shortlist [12]
The Great Moon Mission Shona McQuilken Shortlist [12]
2014 The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean Lindsay Littleson Winner [13]
The Superpower Project Paul J. Bristow Shortlist [14]
My Fake Brother Joan Pratt Shortlist [14]
2015 Slug Boy Saves the World Mark Smith Winner [15]
Drowning in the Mirror Julie MacPherson Shortlist [16]
Monsters M.I.A. Justin Nevil Shortlist [16]
2016 Ruby McCracken: Tragic Without Magic Elizabeth Ezra Winner [17]
The Day My School Exploded (But It Wasn't My Fault!) Alan McClure Shortlist [18]
The Secret of the Tammy Norrie Christine Laurenson Shortlist [18]
2017 The Girl Who Lost Her Shadow Emily Ilett Winner [19]
Lottie Larkin's Magical Mishap Kate Bolden Shortlist [20]
David and the Surprisingly Smart-o-saurus Debbie Cannon Shortlist [20]
2018 The Lost Wizard of Nine Witches Wood Hannah Foley Winner [21]
Haunted Tide Celia Bryce Shortlist [22]
Over the Sea to Sky Robin Scott-Elliot Shortlist [22]
2019 Christopher Mackie Winner [3][23]
2020 Jude Reid Winner [11]
2021 No award presented [11]
2023 Rebekah Fieschi Winner [24]
Leanne Dymond Shortlist [25]
Bruna De Luca Shortlist [25]
Jonathan Stephens Shortlist [25]
Jacqueline Thompson-Tadrowski Shortlist [25]

Kelpie Prize for Illustration honorees

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Kelpie Prize for Illustration honorees[5]
Year Author Result Ref.
2014 Astrid Jaekel Winner
Mark Doyle Commended[a]
Victoria Pickford Commended[a]
2015 Lewis Copland Winner
Anna Elez Rodrigo People's choice[b]
Brad Newman Highly commended[c]
2016 Darren Gate Winner [15]
Grisel Miranda People's choice[d]
2017 Aimee Ferrier Winner
Grisel Miranda People's choice[e]
2018 Moira Scicluna Zahra Winner [26]
2019 Aimee Ferrier Winner [3][23]
2020 Leanne Goodall Winner
2021 No award presented
2022 Ramune Kregzdyte Winner

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Mark Doyle and Victoria Pickford each received a £50 prize.
  2. ^ Anna Elez Rodrigo received a £75 cash prize.
  3. ^ Brad Newman received a £75 cash prize.
  4. ^ Grisel Miranda received a £75 cash prize.
  5. ^ Grisel Miranda received a £75 cash prize.

References

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  1. ^ "The Kelpies Prize 2024". DiscoverKelpies. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Awards: Kelpies Prize; Prime Minister's Literary Awards". Shelf Awareness. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Awards: James Tait Black; Kelpies". Shelf Awareness. August 21, 2019. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "The Kelpies Prize for Illustration". DiscoverKelpies. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "The Kelpies Prize for Illustration – Previous winners". DiscoverKelpies. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "Kelpies Prize for arachnophobe Sharon". Western Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  7. ^ Jones, Phhilip (August 27, 2009). "Mackay wins Kelpies Prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "Meet the Kelpies Prize Winner 2011!". DiscoverKelpies. August 19, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Kelpies Prize 2011 -- Shortlist announced". DiscoverKelpies. July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "The Kelpies Prize Winner 2012!". DiscoverKelpies. 2012-08-20. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "The Kelpies Prize for Writing - Previous Winners". DiscoverKelpies. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Who will win the Kelpies Prize 2013?". DiscoverKelpies. July 18, 2013. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Farrington, Joshua (August 15, 2014). "Lindsay Littleson wins Kelpies prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Awards: Man Booker Longlist (with Americans!); Kelpies Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. July 23, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Eyre, Charlotte (February 29, 2016). "Darren Gate wins Kelpies illustration prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Awards: British Fantasy; Kelpies". Shelf Awareness. July 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  17. ^ Eyre, Charlotte (August 26, 2016). "Elizabeth Ezra wins Kelpies prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Awards: Kelpies Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. July 21, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  19. ^ Onwuemezi, Natasha (August 24, 2017). "Ilett's debut teen novel wins Kelpies Prize 2017". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Awards: Independent Bookshop Week; Trillium; Kelpies". Shelf Awareness. June 23, 2017. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  21. ^ "Kelpies Prize for Scottish children's writing award announced". The Times of India. August 29, 2018. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  22. ^ a b Graham, Kirsten (July 10, 2018). "The Kelpies Prize 2018: Shortlist Announced!". DiscoverKelpies. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Mansfield, Katie (August 16, 2019). "Dentist and teacher triumph at Kelpies Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Wood, Heloise (August 25, 2023). "Fieschi wins 2023 Kelpies Award". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  25. ^ a b c d Piotrowska, Alice (June 13, 2023). "The Kelpies Prize for Writing 2023: shortlist announced". Publishing Scotland. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  26. ^ Eyre, Charlotte (April 3, 2018). "Moira Scicluna Zahra wins Kelpies Illustration Prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.