Stolen by Lucy Christopher, edited by Imogen Cooper and published by Chicken House, has won the 2010 Branford Boase Award, which is given each year to the most outstanding work of fiction for children by a first time novelist.

At the ceremony at Walker Books in London, former Children’s Laureate, Jacqueline Wilson, presented Lucy Christopher with a cheque for £1,000 and both she and editor Imogen Cooper also received a unique, hand-crafted, silver-inlaid box.

Told in a moving letter to her captor, sixteen year old Gemma relives her kidnapping from Bangkok airport while on holiday. Taken by a troubled young man to the wild and desolate Australian Outback , she reflects on a landscape from which there is no escape. A story of survival, love and darkness, Gemma reveals how she had to deal with the nightmare or die trying to fight it. Stolen is a sensitive, compelling and intense novel with a great sense of place. It is an extremely confident debut.

Lucy Christopher was born in Wales but grew up in Australia. Ever since her childhood she has been fascinated by the awesome landscapes of the Outback. She is 29 years old, lives in Cardiff and teaches part-time on the creative writing MA at Bath University. Lucy is currently undertaking a PhD to explore the ways that Australian literature represents wild places, particularly in its writing for young adults. Stolen was written as part of this PhD.

The Branford Boase Award was set up to encourage new writers and is given each year to the most promising work of fiction for children by a debut novelist. The Branford Boase also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.

The delighted winner said, “I am absolutely thrilled to win this year's Branford Boase Award. It means such a lot to me that Stolen has been recognised in this prestigious award.  The other books are fantastic and really stiff competition, so what an honour to be chosen!  Of course, I'm equally thrilled that I'm sharing this award with my editor, Imogen, too....she's the bee’s knees!"

Lucy’s editor, Imogen Cooper, added, 'I am absolutely thrilled to have won this award, and to win with Lucy, whose work I so greatly admire, is a great joy. The Chicken House has a firmly held belief in the importance of nurturing new talent - as you can see by the fact that we have won the prize three times now! - and I have always aspired to win the Branford Boase. I hope I shall go on to help more and more brilliant new writers achieve their potential and enrich the lives of children and young adults.'

The Branford Boase judging panel has a very strong track record of selecting future best-selling and critically acclaimed authors. Previous winning writers include Marcus Sedgwick, Meg Rosoff, Kevin Brooks and Mal Peet.

This year’s judging panel included Helen Boyle, editor of tBk magazine, Tricia Adams, executive director of the School Library Association, John Newman, children’s buyer at the Newham Bookshop and Chair of the Booksellers Association’s Children’s Bookselling Group and B R Collins, author of The Traitor Game, winner of last year’s Branford Boase Award. The panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children’s books editor of The Guardian.

Julia Eccleshare says: ‘Stolen is a wonderfully accomplished first novel. Sure-footed and without a word wasted Lucy has created a fantastic sense of place. Intense, vivid and very cleverly told Stolen is a worthy winner.'

Lucy Christopher, author of Stolen and Flyaway, was born in Wales but grew up in Australia, living in Melbourne from the age of nine until she completed her undergraduate degree at Melbourne University. After various attempts at being an actor, a coffee maker, a waitress and a nature guide, she moved back to the UK to earn a distinction in a Creative Writing MA from Bath Spa University. Lucy took on part-time work as a university lecturer at Bath Spa University, teaching on the undergraduate and the MA creative writing courses, and is currently undertaking a PhD to explore the ways that Australian literature represents wild places, particularly in its writing for young adults. Lucy’s debut novel, Stolen, was written as part of this PhD.

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