We are delighted to announce Theresa Breslin as the winner of the Scottish Book Trust Outstanding Achievement Award 2019.
Theresa Breslin has been a stalwart of Scottish children’s books for 30 years and has published over 50 titles during this time. Her work, which includes folklore, fantasy, historical novels and modern issues, has appeared on television, stage and radio, and is read world-wide in many languages. The experience gained in her former career as a youth librarian provides insight for her creative writing: the panel recognised that she has been a champion of professional librarians and vocal about the importance of school libraries over a number of years.
Theresa’s novel, Whispers in the Graveyard, was inspired by her work with dyslexic readers and their parents and won the Carnegie Medal. She tackles serious issues and difficult subjects, using fiction as a safe space to explore and understand many sides of a situation. Divided City, with themes of racism, sectarianism and prejudice towards asylum seekers is also a story of friendship and the nature of friendship. First published in 2005, the book is still read extensively across schools in Scotland and abroad and was produced as a successful musical play by the Citizens Theatre.
Theresa is an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Scottish Literary Studies, and, as an informed advocate for libraries, was granted Honorary Membership of the Scottish Library Association for services to Children’s Literature. In February 2011 she co-ordinated the demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament to protest against the downgrading of library services and ask the Scottish Government to provide a nationwide policy. She was 2016 President of CILIPS and is a keen supporter of ‘Save Scotland’s School Libraries.’
