Sunday, June 18, 2006

I WON!!!!

Just goes to show I'm a lousy gambler. The Czech Republic lose 2-0 to Ghana, and the Bolton Children's Book Award, 2006, goes not to Jeremy Strong, but to... me!
I couldn't believe it. A massive thank you to everybody in Bolton and the surrounding areas - whether you voted for me or not. By supporting the award you contributed to a wonderful occasion, and you certainly made it a memorable week for me.
Those of you who were at the ceremony this morning probably have a better idea about how I reacted that I do. It's all a bit of a blur. I think there were some pictures taken, I probably rambled on into the microphone for a couple of minutes, and I'm pretty certain there was a cheque involved. Nice one.
And if you were there this morning, you'll be expecting this little memento - the picture I took of YOU, the crowd, just after it was announced that I had won:

I won't forget this image in a hurry.

Congratulations to all the other authors on the list. It was loads of fun meeting you all. Thank you to the organisers of the award and the sponsors, thanks to Simon for the great speech about my book, to Chris and Rachael for presenting the giant cheque, and to everybody else who contributed.

Finally...

Thank you, Bolton!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, Joe. It's Chris, just, congratulations on winning, I really hoped you'd do well. Thanks for the mention :P

Anonymous said...

Bolton Evening News
Thriller is top choice for young readers

A whole newspaper about what happens in Bolton during the evening? Odd lot these northerners...