Story Thief is about an 11-year-old failed asylum seeker called Arlie. She narrates her story of the days following the arrest and detention of her family as she tries to hide from the authorities. She is supported by her friend Louise and two boys who have their own reasons for staying in hiding. At the announcements of this year’s award, Mary Briggs, one of this year’s judges and the co-founder of Seven Stories, hinted at the twists in the plot that give Story Thief its name. She also described it as “not a happy story” and “distinctly depressing”, and perhaps the lack of hope is what would make this more suitable for older readers than the middle-reader audience the award is aimed at. However, apart from its local setting being close to Seven Stories’ heart, it was felt that it needed a special mention because it explores the horrors of asylum seekers’ situations and presents the reality of the sense of helplessness when dealing with the beaurocratic system.

Here, Karon tells us about her passion for the issues she highlights and why she wrote the story.

Story Thief is about Arlie, an eleven-year-old failed asylum seeker. When her mother and sister are taken in the night, to a detention centre, she is on a sleepover with her friend next door. She tries to run away, helped by her friend, Louise.

I was thrilled that Story Thief was a runner up in the Diverse Voices competition, especially as I’d written it very quickly. However, the ideas had been simmering for some time as I support Common Ground, the East Area Asylum Seekers Support Group, a voluntary organisation that gives friendship and practical help to asylum seekers.

The asylum seekers I’ve met – the woman who’d lost her nine-year-old daughter, the girl who’d been trafficked, the stateless woman – are real people, in desperate situations, yet living in hope. But at the same time, I saw endless press coverage about asylum seekers committing crimes or receiving generous benefits. Actually, asylum seekers in Britain get a £35-a-week card. If their application to be official refugees is rejected, they can be left destitute. They are not allowed to work. They can be moved with little notice, detained, deported.

The story grew from two incidents: reading in the Observer (18 October 2009) about children imprisoned in detention centres, without a fixed timescale or any public outcry; and when a friend was unexpectedly detained for an interview at the immigration office. As I was looking after her baby at the time, I tried to find out what had happened and discovered a secretive system with unhelpful staff.

I felt that I could hear Arlie’s voice in my head. She is bright and brave and loves school; she’d be a great asset to any community. I set it in Newcastle, because this is the city I’ve lived and worked in for twenty years now. I wanted the story to have a real sense of place – the mix of innovative projects and urban decay of the Ouseburn Valley, and the buzz of the Quayside only a mile from areas of social deprivation. I still hope Story Thief may be published in some form, as I feel Arlie’s voice needs to be heard. On the wall of a primary school I visited recently, a world map charts the pupils’ diversity: “Jonno has returned to Zimbabwe,” says a caption. “Voluntarily?” I asked the head teacher. He shook his head and told me another asylum seeker’s story.

There will be children in our cities who have a friend who can disappear, be imprisoned or be forcibly returned to a country they don’t call home. I would like young people to read this story and be absorbed into this world, a world where Arlie is their friend and they want to help her.

Thank you, Karon. We wish you every success for the future and hope that Arlie’s story will find its audience.

This year’s Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award was won by Tom Avery for his soon-to-be published and now-with-cover book Too Much Trouble; he has a great interview with Karon on his blog (and last year’s winner, Cristy Burne, has this interview with Tom on her fantastic blog). This photo shows all the winners and judges from this year’s award – click on it to see everybody’s names – yes, I’ve finally put my photos from the award evening up on Flickr… Better late than never – head on over and take a look.

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award for 2011 is now open for entries – for further details see here or here.

Too Much Trouble is the story of two [illegal immigrant] brothers, Emmanuel and Prince. Emmanuel tells us his story as he looks back on how events led to him holding a gun to a man’s head. The story opens on an ordinary day for the boys at school where they strive to go unnoticed, fending for themselves on handouts fom their drug-dealer uncle and living in a house where they compete for space with their uncle’s marijuana. But life changes completely when their temperamental uncle decides the boys are too much trouble and withdraws his already limited support. Left to look after themselves, the brothers are led into a life of crime from which Emmanuel cannot see a way out.

I have just returned home from Seven Stories in Newcastle, where the annoucement was made – and was lucky enough to hear Tom reading an extract from Too Much Trouble – it was part of where Emmanuel describes his last “ordinary day” – and I wished he could have continued a little longer. Instead, we will be looking forward to this time next year when Too Much Trouble will be published – just like the winner of last year’s inaugural Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award, Cristy Burne‘s Takeshita Demons, which was launched today (and do read Cristy’s great blog, which charts the book’s progress from manuscript to print…).

In my review of Takeshita Demons, I said I hoped there might be a sequel – well, it was really welcome news to hear today that not only will there be a second book published next year, with the intriguing title The Filth Licker, but in 2012 a third title will be published to complete the trilogy: The Matsui Monster.

Not only that, but Takeshita Demons is to be featured in Booktrust’s Children’s Book Week Pack, which will be sent to all UK primary schools, and has also been selected for this year’s Booked Up list, which gives a free book to every child in their first year at secondary school.

I will be writing a bit more about the awards evening soon – I just wanted to share the news straight away. Congratulations, both to Tom and to Cristy.

(Click on event name for more information)

World Book Fair~ ongoing until Jun 7, Singapore

SCBWI Hawaii Illustrators’ Exhibit: The Art of Picture Books~ ongoing until Jun 16, Honolulu, HI, USA

Skipping Stones Magazine’s Youth Honor Award Program – Multicultural Awareness and Nature Appreciation~ entries accepted until Jun 25

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibit: Seven Little Australians~ ongoing until Jun 25, Riddells Creek, Australia

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Exhibit: Why Grow Up? Etienne Delessert~ ongoing until Jun 26, Abilene, TX, USA

Monash Woodfest~ ongoing until Jul 31, Monash, Australia

International Youth Library Exhibit: Darkness Had fallen, The Night-time World in International Children’s Literature~ ongoing until Jul 31, Munich, Germany

Monsters and Miracles: A Journey Through Jewish Picture Books~ ongoing until  Aug 1, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibit: From the Collection~ ongoing until Oct 24, Riddells Creek, Australia

Expo 2010~ ongoing until  Oct 31, Shanghai, China

Everyday Adventures Growing Up: Art from Picture Books~ ongoing until Nov 28, Chicago, IL, USA

Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award 2011~ entries accepted until Dec 31, Singapore

Canadian Library Association National Conference and Trade Show~ Jun 2 – 5, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Tracing the History of Translated Children’s Fiction in New Zealand: Problems and Insights~ Jun 3, Wellington, New Zealand

The 2010 Young Authors’ Fiction Festival Celebration~ Jun 4, Paris, France

Once Upon an Island: The Waiheke Festival of Story~ Jun 4 – 7, Auckland, New Zealand

Nairn Book and Arts Festival~ Jun 5 – 13, Nairn, United Kingdom

Librarian’s Day~ Jun 7, Cuba

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award Winners Announced~ Jun 8, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Children’s Literature Association’s 2010 Conference: Children’s Literature and Media~ Jun 10 – 12, Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, MI, USA

International Youth Library Exhibit: Shaun Tan, Pictures and Books~ Jun 10 – Oct 31, Munich, Germany

SCBWI Tokyo Translation Day 2010:  Bringing Japanese Children’s Books to the World~ Jun 12, Yokohama, Japan

3rd Annual Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival~ Jun 12 – 13, Los Angeles, CA, USA

SCBWI Philippines Children’s Lit Booktalk~ Jun 14, Makati City, Philippines

International Day of the African Child~ Jun 16

The Torquay Froth and Bubble Literary Festival~ Jun 16 – 20, Torquay, Australia

Biennial Conference on Literature and Hawaii’s Children~ Jun 17 – 19, Honolulu, HI, USA

Borders Book Festival~ Jun 17 – 20, Melrose, United Kingdom

Children’s and Young Adult Literature in New Zealand Symposium~ Jun 18 – 20, Wellington, New Zealand

World Refugee Day~ Jun 20

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards Winners Announced~ Jun 24, London, United Kingdom

American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference~ Jun 24 – 29, Washington, D.C., USA

ALSC Activities During the ALA Annual Conference~ Jun 24 – 30, Washington, D.C., USA

YALSA Activities During the ALA Annual Conference~ Jun 24 – 30, Washington, D.C., USA

ALA Kidlit Drink Night hosted by SCBWI Mid-Atlantic~ Jun 25, Washington, D.C., USA

“Libraries to the World” National and International Library Collections of Materials for Young People ~ Jun 26, Washington, D.C., USA

Sunthorn Phu Day (celebrated poet)~ Jun 26, Thailand

Canadian Multiculturalism Day~ Jun 27, Canada

Third Annual Children’s Literature Conference~ Jun 28, Los Angeles, CA, USA

PROtrack Program Children’s Publishing in the Digital Age~ Jun 30, Fairfax, VA, USA

Frances Lincoln Limited, the award-winning publisher, and Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books, are proud to announce the second Diverse Voices Award in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945 – 2001), to encourage and promote diversity in children’s fiction.

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award is for a manuscript that celebrates cultural diversity in the widest possible sense, either in terms of its story or the ethnic and cultural origins of its author.

The prize of £1,500, plus the option for Frances Lincoln Children’s Books to publish the novel, will be awarded to the best work of unpublished fiction for 8-to-12-year-olds by a writer, aged 16 years or over, who has not previously published a novel for children. The writer may have contributed to an anthology of prose or poetry. The work must be written in English and it must be a minimum of 15,000 words and a maximum of 35,000 words.

For more details and to download an entry form, visit the Seven Stories website.

Australian writer, Cristy Burne’s 2009 winning book, Takeshita Demons, is due to be launched at the 2010 award ceremony in June next year. After being tantalized by an extract at the 2009 Award ceremony (you can read my post about it here), I can’t wait! Cristy has a fabulous blog, which includes great interviews of the other shortlisted writers. She and her husband, along with their three-month-old baby, have just returned to Australia after living in the UK for two and a half years, so we wish them all the best for this new stage of their journey…