Catfish Rolling, the debut young-adult novel by Clara Kumagai, has won book of the year at the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards . The novel, which is situated between modern-day Japan in the wake of a deadly earthquake and a magical dimension rich in mythological notes, touches on identity, relationships and grief, along with the ethics of scientific study, exploitation and capitalism. It is published by Zephyr.
[ From the Irish Times archive: Clara Kumagai – Feeling the fusion on the dancefloor at Féile Tokyo ] Five other awards were presented to authors and illustrators, in partnership with International Literature Festival Dublin : Honour award for fiction: Treacle Town, by Brian Conaghan (Andersen Press) Honour award for illustration: Three Tasks for a Dragon, illustrated by PJ Lynch (Walker Books) Eilís Dillon award for debut children’s book: Wider Than the Sea, written by Serena Molloy (Hodder Children’s Books) Judges’ special award: The Hare-Shaped Hole, written by John Dougherty and illustrated by Thomas Docherty (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) KPMG junior juries’ award: The Hare-Shaped Hole written by John Dougherty and illustrated by Thomas Docherty (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) The winners were selected by an independent panel that included two young judges, plus a network of junior jurors across the island of Ireland. The judging panel read a record 158 titles from writers and illustrators born or based in Ireland. [ Children’s Bo.