Penguin/Orange Broadband Readers' Group Prize: > show > feature

Home

Youth Panel to Shadow Orange Prize Judges

About the Panel

London, 25 March 2009: Six teenagers will form a youth panel to shadow the judging process of the official Orange Prize 2009 judges.

The youth panel were recruited via the Spinebreakers website, the UK's only online book community for teenagers run by teenagers.

www.Spinebreakers.co.uk

The three girls and three boys, aged between 16 – 19, will read the 20 books longlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize, then meet to choose their own shortlist of six and subsequently, a winner. They will be sharing their experiences of judging a book prize publicly online via the teenage website Spinebreakers.

'Some years ago, we had a male panel shadowing the main prize, which raised all sorts of interesting issues. Since there’s a big debate at present in the book trade about teenage reading, it seemed a logical step to set up a shadow teenage panel,' commented Kate Mosse, author and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize. 'We hope that it will not only engage a wider, younger audience with the Prize but also provide interesting insights into the judging process and the question of who reads what.'

'I love books and feel very proud to be part of this youth panel,' said Lily Dessau, aged 16.

'I’m really looking forward to being a member of the panel and to getting stuck into the discussions,' added Francis Gene-Rowe, aged 18.

The choices of the youth panel will not influence the decisions of the official panel, but will be made public after the announcement of the Orange Prize shortlist in April. Orange Prize Honorary Director, the novelist Kate Mosse, will sit in on the discussions of both sets of judges and act as facilitator of the youth panel, who are…

Lily Dessau, 16
Lily lives in South London and is studying Art, English, History and Maths at school. She loves reading and is the longest-serving member of Spinebreakers. Also a fan of live music, Lily would like to study English Literature at University and her ambition is to become a writer or journalist. Her favourite authors include Philip Pullman, George Orwell and Malorie Blackman and she also enjoys reading murder/mystery, comedy and adventure stories.

Rossana Duarte, 18

Rossana is taking Physics, Chemistry and Biology A levels and she hopes to go to university to study Chemistry. Her hobbies include go-karting, reading and writing poetry and astronomy and her dream is to become an astronaut. Rossana’s favourite authors include Jane Austen, Stephen Fry, Isabel Allende and F.Scott Fitzgerald.

Max Elsworth, 19

Max is currently finishing English and History A’ levels at college and his ambition is to study English at Oxford. His main hobbies include reading, writing, playing the cello and guitar. An aspiring story writer, poet, song writer and journalist, Max’s top five authors are Tolkien, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, R.L Stine and J.K. Rowling.

Joe Kerridge, 16

Joe goes to school in South East London. He has loved reading since a child and cites literature and sport as his two main passions. His top five authors at the moment include Ian McEwan, Jack Kerouac, Harold Pinter, Franz Kafka and Stephen Fry.

Clarissa Pabi, 18

Clarissa is currently studying for A levels in English Literature, Philosophy and Maths and also enjoys theatre, physics and politics. She writes for the Spinebreakers website and last year became the 2008 Roundhouse Theatre Poetry Champion. She is also part of the Barbican Young Poets. Her ambition is to become a critic and a writer and her favourite authors include Will Self, J.K Rowling and Mary Shelley.

Francis Rowe-Gene, 18
Francis is a gap year student and next year he will be going to UCL to read English. In the meantime he works as a part-time teacher and tutor. His main interests are theatre, music, film and writing and he hopes one day to work in one or more of those fields. In the past he has worked on several theatre projects both in school and out, and when he is not teaching, he can normally be found with his nose in a book.

your comments

You can comment on this article, but you need to be logged in. Log in below or register by following the link.

The Orange Prize consistently attracts a fantastic range of judges and this year is no exception. Yeah, there is no exceptions this year and I mean it. Awesome stuff. Wordpress Installation Service

jimmycart

Aug 13th, 2009 at 08:38:47 hrs

Good on your Lida Lida

Luck

Aug 1st, 2009 at 10:59:38 hrs

They all look great and critical. Good luck with the new panel. I hope you will do greatly. classifieds |employment |for sale by owner

Ninanina

Aug 26th, 2009 at 03:53:04 hrs

thanks seeo nline : توبيكات | شات |

Noureddine

Aug 30th, 2009 at 10:59:32 hrs

It's really great to see the youth involved in this process of nominating an award winner. Bret from portland window cleaning

Portland window

Aug 30th, 2009 at 22:38:42 hrs

I guess by this time the contest is over and the those young guns proved that their presence is meaningful and worth. Young blood always has that capability. Cheers. Video poker strategy

adamhele

Aug 3rd, 2009 at 22:39:18 hrs

I think the whole experiment elucidated the different ways we read as teenagers and as adults. Six students became the examiners, or rather the pseudo-examiners. Also its too early to comment on them. fish finders

shanebond

Aug 8th, 2009 at 09:04:58 hrs

shanebond

Aug 8th, 2009 at 09:17:31 hrs

My daughter is 18 and is off to a very good start herself,This is awesome.

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:20:07 hrs

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:20:15 hrs

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:20:21 hrs

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:22:34 hrs

snap

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:23:10 hrs

http://totalwindowcleaning.com

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:24:50 hrs

Portland Window Cleaning by TWC

madseason

Dec 31st, 2009 at 17:25:20 hrs

colorado springs mortgagecolorado springs mortgage

RavirajT

Feb 22nd, 2010 at 12:52:36 hrs

I think you have managed to express the state of mind that a lot of people are in. Lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need! colorado springs mortgage

RavirajT

Feb 22nd, 2010 at 12:53:22 hrs

Thanks for the post Website SEO

sangeeta

Jan 11th, 2010 at 10:23:44 hrs

This is interesting, i don't know much about Haiti but when i heard about earth quack at Haiti , i was very shocked. But still people are surviving there, however I'm regular getting updates from one of my client in Haiti to whom I'm setting up. healthcare predictive analytics

yeste

Jul 13th, 2010 at 08:44:36 hrs

yeste

Jul 13th, 2010 at 08:44:58 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:04 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:10 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:12 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:14 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:17 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:18 hrs

Thanks for a nice post... if you need Essay Help of the topic, feel free to contact me. Adam

adam2009

Jul 13th, 2010 at 16:49:21 hrs