Gonzo shortlisted for German Children's Literature Award!

Photo: Thanks to "a tempo" – Das Lebensmagazin

I don’t normally shout about this kind of stuff, but I’m really chuffed about this one and wanted to share the news! The German edition of Waiting for Gonzo, Warten auf Gonzo, has been nominated for this year’s Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in the Young Adult category. Gonzo is one of six books on the shortlist announced at the Leipzig Book Fair last week (see photo!).

The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis/German Children’s Literature Award is the most prestigious award for children’s and young adult literature in Germany, so it’s a real honour to be included. The results will be announced on October 13, 2017 during the Frankfurt Book Fair, with the Federal Minister Manuela Schwesig presenting awards to the winners in each of the five categories.

Waiting for Gonzo was the second book I had published in the UK. I was warned that second books are notoriously difficult to write, and Gonzo duly proved the rule! It is also the book of which I’m most proud, partly because of the blood, sweat and tears shed in order to get it right! I’m always extra pleased when readers tell me they enjoyed it, and despite the many drafts, long hours, and sleepless nights, in the end I had a lot of fun with Gonzo.

In 2013 I was lucky enough to fulfil one of my dreams when I was invited to the BBC studios in Bath to narrate the audiobook. Somehow, I then ended up going into a different ‘studio’ with one of my old bandmates to record a full soundtrack album to accompany the book—ten tracks of original songs by four of Oz’s favourite bands. Which, of course, needed music videos to go with them. Lots more work, but again, good fun.

There are lots of different language editions of Waiting for Gonzo out now, and I’d like to thank my publishers across the world for introducing Oz and the gang to so many new readers. But of all the editions, I have to say that my German publisher, Verlag Freies Geistesleben produced an exceptionally beautiful one. 

The cover, featuring Meg in her Dr. Marten boots, captures the mood of the book perfectly. The typography and page layout is wonderfully subtle and gives the whole edition a lovely feel. There’s even a QR code on the jacket linking to the aforementioned soundtrack. Superb stuff. Sadly, my sub O-level German isn’t anywhere near good enough for me to read this edition (though I am trying to learn in preparation for my trip to Frankfurt!). But I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Anne Brauner for translating this and the German edition of 15 Days without a Head. Judging by the nomination, I’d say she did a pretty good job!

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P.S. Should you wish to, you can find out more about the Waiting for Gonzo soundtrack here.