I sweated buckets over my thank you speech (complete with life advice from the world of Small). So, in what might be my most self-indulgent post ever, I thought I’d share it.
Thank you SO much. This might just be the most exciting thing to happen to me as an author in the history of the world, ever!
It’s partly really exciting because Small is my first book, and this is the first time it’s won an award, which makes it extra special.
It’s also really exciting because YOU voted for it. I write for lots of reasons. And I admit, I enjoy making myself laugh writing about kids who set fire to their headteachers’ trousers and giants that take up ballet dancing. But I’ve always thought that stories are better shared. So knowing that you’ve read Small and talked about it and hopefully laughed and finished it feeling excited to start your next book is just brilliant.
You’ve also made me feel like my main character Harvey in the best possible way.
If you haven’t read Small yet, it’s about a boy who’s had quite a bit of bad luck. He’s been kicked out of a few different schools. Now the only place willing to give him a chance is Madame Bogbrush’s School for Gifted Giants. There’s just one problem. Harvey’s not a giant. And giants don’t like humans. So he has to wear a daft giant disguise of stilts, fake rubber feet, extra long trousers and a top hat.
Harvey looks like a giant. But he doesn’t feel like one.
Well, I’ve always called myself a writer. I’ve been writing since I was big enough to hold a pen. When I was little, I mostly wrote rhymes and looked for ever more creative ways to tell my brother he smells. As I got older, I found jobs where I could write. But I was always writing very serious things, like the messages your grown ups might get from the bank saying they owe someone money. The problem with writing very serious things for grown ups is that they almost never let you include stories about swamp flapper birds pooing on your shoes … or giants who wear tutus.
So I called myself a writer of serious things, but never a children’s author. Becoming a children’s author was my dream. It was also scary because there were already so many brilliant books and children’s authors already out there. Could I really do it?
Even when I found a publisher and even when my book was on the shelves in shops and libraries I still didn’t completely feel like an author.
Putting stories out into the world feels a lot like being a kid on stilts, pretending to be a giant and hoping no one will see through the disguise.
Putting stories out into the world feels a lot like being a kid on stilts, pretending to be a giant and hoping no one will see through the disguise.
Being shortlisted for the Lancashire School Libraries Fantastic Book Award and waiting nervously for the results felt a lot like being Harvey, leaping from his stilts to escape a deadly swamp sink pit and not knowing if his best giant friend would catch him … or if he’d be eaten by swamp goblins.
Thank you so so much for reading Small, for voting for it, and for catching me. I’ve never felt more like a real children’s author.
I’ll finish on one thought. Think for a moment about a big dream you have. Things you want to do, whether that’s a school club or team you’re thinking of joining or something you want to do when you’re grown up. When you think about that dream, it might make you a bit scared. Perhaps it feels too hard or you think you won’t fit in or someone will laugh at you. Well, I have a secret. Most of us (especially grown-ups) feel like we’re walking around on stilts most of the time. We’re all just hoping no one will spot our disguise.
So if you have a big dream, even if it seems scary, my best advice, is to be brave like Harvey and leap!
Thank you so much again. Keep reading. Keep sharing stories. This really is the most exciting day in the history of the world ever. Thank you.
You can also read more about the Fantastic Book Awards and the other winners on the Lancashire County Council website
Hannah Moffatt, word wrangler 