David Walliams loses out to Dark Lord in Roald Dahl prize

 

Catherine Wylie
Tuesday 06 November 2012 18:37 GMT
Comments

A book about a dark lord who unwillingly inhabits the body of a chubby teenager has beaten off competition from David Walliams and Olympics Ceremony scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce to win an award celebrating funny books for children.

Dark Lord: Teenage Years by Brighton-based games developer Jamie Thomson was chosen as the winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize for 2012 at a ceremony in London.

Thomson's book, the first in a new series, won the gong for the funniest book for children aged seven to 14 and centres on the trials of Dirk Lloyd in his bid to be taken seriously as an evil force on Earth.

Aimed at younger readers, a book about a toddler terrorising her mother with her tantrums received the award for funniest book for children aged six and under.

My Big Shouting Day by Cambridge based author/illustrator Rebecca Patterson stomped its way to victory, beating award-winning illustrators, recognised for the witty way it finds humour in the terrible twos.

The book follows Bella, a toddler having a particularly bad day, who is able to find despair in almost everything she encounters.

Now in its fifth year, the winners of the price each received £2,500 at the ceremony in the Unicorn Theatre.

This year's prize saw schools from across the country involved in the judging process with over 500 pupils selected to read the shortlisted titles.

The official judging panel included founder of the prize and former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, comedian Mel Giedroyc, and journalist and author Lucy Mangan.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in