Jacqueline Wilson’s novels will, “like Peter Pan, undoubtedly stand the test of time”, said Malorie Blackman on Thursday, as the Tracy Beaker author was presented with the JM Barrie award for a “lifetime of unforgettable writing for children”.
Won in the past by names including Shirley Hughes, Quentin Blake, Floella Benjamin and Roger McGough, the prize is given annually by Action for Children’s Arts to a children’s arts practitioner whose work the ACA believes will endure. Former children’s laureate Blackman, reading a citation at a ceremony in London to an audience that included literary names Michelle Magorian, Lynne Reid Banks and Jan Pieńkowski, said that Wilson’s bestselling stories are “uplifting but never safe or ‘easy’, often tackling difficult subjects with uncompromising honesty and warm humanity”.
“She is one of the world’s favourite authors, with a huge and loyal fanbase,” Blackman said. “Her work is loved and cherished by a multitude of young readers who happily wait for hours to meet her and have their book signed, and Jacqueline always rewards their affection by chatting to every single one, no matter how long the queue.”
Wilson, Blackman said, wrote her first novel at the age of nine, “filling in countless Woolworths exercise books as she grew up”. But it was The Story of Tracy Beaker, published in 1991 and her first collaboration with the illustrator Nick Sharratt, that was her breakthrough. Her stories of modern children dealing with real-life problems have gone on to win her prizes including the Guardian children’s fiction prize for The Illustrated Mum, in which two sisters attempt to deal with their mother’s manic depression. They have sold more than 38m copies in the UK.
Wilson was children’s laureate from 2005-2007, spearheading a campaign encouraging parents and carers to read aloud to children, and was awarded a DBE in 2008.
Blackman told the Guardian that Wilson – who had “inspired untold numbers of young people” – was a “most worthy” recipient of the prize.
Wilson’s long-time illustrator Sharratt also paid tribute to the novelist, before current children’s laureate Chris Riddell presented her with her prize. Ken Robinson, whose TED talk Do schools kill creativity? is the most viewed in TED’s history, was also honoured, with an outstanding contribution award.
ACA chair David Wood said the organisation was proud to honour Wilson and Robinson. “Children are the future,” he said. “The arts practitioners who specialise in entertaining and inspiring them and triggering their imaginations deserve, Action for Children’s Arts believes, public recognition.”
