Month: October 2026
One year and one month on
It’s been a year and a month since My Name is Jodie Jones was published, and the very lovely news is that it is continuing to be the bearer of good news.
Critics have written reviews after reviews that have made my heart swell and my dopamine levels skyrocket; readers have loved it (mostly – I mean, no book is for everyone), and the award nominations, to my joy and astonishment, keep on coming.
The most recent is a long listing for the UKLA (UK Literacy Association) Book Awards in the 11-14+ category. The award, which is voted for by teachers, this year teachers in Manchester, is awarded ‘for books in which the language is powerful,’ have ‘an effect on the child reader’ and are ‘memorable in some way because of the way it is used.’ The winning book also needs to ‘have something interesting to say’, ‘communicate its themes in interesting ways’ is ‘well-crafted not only at plot level but also with regard to narration, style, dialogue, lexical choices and recognise a broad range of perspectives, experiences and voices.’ This is all very Jodie Jones, but there are excellent books in the long listing that fit that description, too, so good luck to all of my esteemed author buddies and colleagues. We are honoured to have been long listed. Thank you very much, UKLA, for this nomination.
