Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Alexander Armstrong, Alice Oseman, British Book Awards, Bunny Vs Monkey, Jamie Smart

Jamie Smart Wins Two For Bunny Vs Monkey at British Book Awards 2024

Jamie Smart wins Best Illustrated Children’s Book and Best Illustrator for Bunny Vs Monkey: Multiverse Mix-Up at the British Book Awards 2024

Published Tue, 14 May 2024 06:21:08 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Jamie Smart garners Best Illustrated Children’s Book at British Book Awards.
Awarded Best Illustrator for "Bunny Vs Monkey: Multiverse Mix-Up".
Smart's speech highlights comics' impact, thanks team and family.
Smart's "Bunny Vs Monkey" proclaimed a game-changer in children's literature.

It may be lazy to say that Jamie Smart's Bunny Vs Monkey is the UK version of Dav Pilkey's Dog Man, but it tracks. Starting in the truly sensational weekly kids comic Phoenix from DFC, it has spun off and been collected in a series of best-selling graphic novels and may well be the best-selling comic in the UK of all. And yesterday, Jamie Smart won Best Illustrated Children's Book and Best Illustrator at the British Book Awards, presented to him by Alexander Armstrong and then by Alice Oseman. His acceptance speech for the first can be heard on Instagram, as is the second. Transcripts are below.

Best Illustrated Children's Book at the British Book Awards

Alexander Armstrong: Good evening, good evening, this is very, very lovely and what a treat it is to be here. I very nearly wasn't here; I just started following someone backstage and ended up in the kitchen. I could have come out with your starters, sorry about that. Anyway, much has been said earlier, particularly by our brilliant individual bookseller, about the importance of children's literature and, if we can get that right, how we can sew wonderful seeds for the future. And this category, I think, more than any other because it's Illustrated children's fiction. This really grabs people by the lapels, and uh, being part of the judging panel for this was just so exciting. Bloody impossible to try and select a winner from all these fabulous titles but these are phenomenal, phenomenal books. People who say they don't read pick these books up and are committed for life so fabulous. Alan, will you tell us who is on our short list?

Alan: Of course I will, Xander. On the shortlist are, from Anderson Press, The King's Pants by Nicholas Allen. From Bloomsbury Children's Books, We're Going On A Ghost Hunt by Martha Mumford, illustrated by Cherie Zamazing. From Hodder Children's Books, Heartstopper Volume Five by Alice Oseman. From Scholastic, Dog Man: 20,000 Fleas Under The Sea by Dav Pilkey. From David Fickling Books, Bunny Versus Monkey: Multiverse Mixup by Jamie Smart. And from Scholastic, This Is Me by George Webster in collaboration with Claire Taylor illustrated by Tim Budgen.

Alexander Armstrong: And from that impressive short list the judges praised this book as a game changer, describing it as undiluted reading for pleasure. The winner is Bunny Vs Monkey: Multiverse Mix-Up

Alan: It is, so let's welcome author and illustrator Jamie Smart. Now Jamie Smart's novel has seen him named the top-selling graphic novelist in 2023 with his best annual sales ever. David Fickling Books' investment was praised as a major coup with a campaign promoting the series breakout title and exclusive prints for indie bookshops.

Jamie Smart: It's got my name on it and everything. Well okay. Yeah, I'm a little bit nervous. I'll be honest, I have I have a vague speech, blimey. Firstly, I need to thank everyone at DFB on that table over there. DFB Publishing they've been my publishers for about ten years. They're so incredibly supportive, but especially Mr David Fickling himself… yes, a round of applause… who has believed in comics for decades and decades, even when no one else did. And he's fought for comics, and I feel really, really lucky that he took me under his wing. Oh wow, I'm on stage at the British Book Awards… it's just just landed. Thank you, everyone at DFB, Phil, Liz, Braun, Meggie, Fraser Rosie, and, of course, Anthony, for helping me bring the books together. Thank you to the amazing illustrator Sammy Borras for the colouring and the adaptation work… yes for Sammy. A huge, huge thank you to everyone at the Phoenix. The Phoenix is a weekly children's comic that's been going on for ten years, which is an amazing achievement in itself. And it not only gets kids reading, it just provides fantastic content, week in week out. So thank you to Tom, Joe, Will, Paul, everyone at the Phoenix. I'm sorry I will have forgotten people. If there is a Renaissance in children's Comics at the moment, it is very largely due to the Phoenix and DFB. They've really been at the forefront of it. Thank you to my amazing agent Jodie Hodges at United Agents, for being so supportive and patient with all the things I don't understand, which is quite a lot. Thank you to Steph, my sister, who will be bouncing around the room watching this at home. Thank you to Sarah my wife, as of a month ago, who… thank you… who has been so supportive and patient throughout my entire career. It's incredible. Thank you to all the booksellers, thank you to the Bookseller, thank you to everyone here, and just a little note if I could to all the publishers in the room. Please, please, please keep investing in new comics, in new comic creators, have faith in them, and stick with them, this is still a relatively new space, it's still quite anarchic, we're still trying out new ideas, and there are so many voices yet to be heard and there are so many exciting comics yet to make, so thank you, thank you very much.

Best Illustrator at the British Book Awards

Alice Oseman: By any measure, this year's recipient has had a remarkable 12 months sales of their books grew 84% in 2023, making them the biggest-selling graphic novelist, and sales of their breakthrough series first published a decade ago Rose 81% year on year but it is not just about the numbers they have been working in this sector for more than two decades their first weekly children's comic was in the Sunday Times children supplement the Funday times before spending a decade at the Dandy they developed their work at DFC's weekly the Phoenix and continues to draw for it viewing it as the heartbeat of the UK Comics scene they were recently heard saying I hope I really hope more Publishers put their faith in comic creators and they seem to be of the six titles shortlisted for the children's Illustrated award in 2024, three were comics these are just some of the reasons Jamie Smart is the British Book Awards 2024 illustrator of the year

Jamie Smart: Uh, well, that's ridiculous, isn't it? Thank you, it feels obviously feels very weird to accept Illustrator of the Year, when there are so many brilliant illustrators working at the moment. But I'm here, so I'll do it. I've just got a very quick speech. I've been drawing comics full-time for about 25 years, so obviously, there have been an awful lot of people that I need to thank along the way. But especially DFC and the Phoenix and Jod Hodges, who've been instrumental to my career to date, and have been so so supportive to get me here. Again, to Stephanie, my sister and Sarah, my wife, who are infinitely supportive of me, but most importantly, I'd like to dedicate this to my parents, so I wish they could see this. We lost Dad 14 years ago, and we lost Mum about a year ago; you could not have wished for more encouraging parents. They wanted me and my sister to both be artists and we both are. They would be absolutely losing their minds if they could see this now so, Mum and Dad, this is for you.