A Durham graduate's hit book which was adapted into a popular Netflix series is vying for the title of Waterstones Book Of The Year 2022.
Alice Oseman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Durham University in 2016 and went on to write a number of young adult fiction books. Her stunning graphic novel 'Heartstopper Volume 1' was adapted into a Netflix series of the same name which was released earlier this year.
The series, which follows a gay schoolboy who falls in love with a classmate, received critical acclaim and was ranked number seven on Netflix's Top 10 TV English titles just two days after its release. But long before the Netflix sensation, Heartstopper Volume 1 was championed by booksellers and was loved by teenagers and young adults for its heartwarming plot.
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It is the first graphic novel to be included on the Waterstones Book Of The Year shortlist, which sees ten different books vie for the title. And the addition of Alice's graphic novel represents "the vibrant, flourishing genre of illustration", the book retailer said. Alice said she feels "honoured" her book was included.
She said: "Waterstones has been a huge advocate of Heartstopper since the very beginning: booksellers have enthusiastically recommended it, shops have created stunning window and in-store displays, and the central Waterstones team have been a wonderful, creative partner in every way. It feels like they’ve really taken Nick and Charlie into their hearts. Thank you to Waterstones for all this – and also for the Book of the Year shortlisting, which I feel honoured to have received."
The Waterstones Book Of The Year was first awarded a decade ago, in 2012, to Russell Norman's beautiful cookery book Polpo. Since then, Waterstones booksellers are annually called on to nominate a title that they find truly outstanding and in which they have felt the most pride in recommending to readers over the previous year.
It has since become a much-coveted award, with the illustrious list of previous winners ranging from Philip Pullman and Sally Rooney to Charlie Mackesy and Paul McCartney.
The Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist in full (alphabetically by author surname):
- Maggie O’Farrell, The Marriage Portrait
- Jonathan Freedland, The Escape Artist
- Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry
- Thomas Halliday, Otherlands
- Katy Hessel, The Story Of Art Without Men
- R.F. Kuang, Babel
- Jermey Lee, Cooking
- Alice Oseman, Heartstopper Volume 1
- Katherine Rundell, The Golden Mole
- A.F. Steadman, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
The title named Waterstones Book of the Year 2022 will receive the full and committed backing of Waterstones shops and booksellers across the UK, as well as support online and through its loyalty card programme, Waterstones Plus, which reaches over a million readers.
The Waterstones Book of the Year 2022 will be chosen by a Waterstones panel and be announced on Thursday, December 1.
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