Croucher wins 2024 YA Book Prize

In the UK, Lex Croucher has won the 2024 YA Book Prize for Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (Bloomsbury YA), reports the Bookseller.

Described as a ‘masterclass in teen romantic comedy’, the novel is set a few centuries after the time of King Arthur and follows titular characters Gwen and Arthur (Art) who have been betrothed since birth but don’t get along. When Gwen sees Art kissing a boy and Art discovers Gwen’s writings about the kingdom’s only female knight, they become reluctant allies, pretending to fall for each other to appease their families.

In an interview with the Bookseller, Croucher said they wanted the novel ‘to be absolutely over-the-top ridiculous, funny, escapist; full of things like flirty sword fights and terrible puns’, stating they wrote the book for their teen self. ‘If I’d had books like the ones on the [YA Book Prize] shortlist this year, it would have changed everything for me,’ said Croucher.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love was previously shortlisted in the children’s fiction category at the 2023 Nero Book Awards and won the 2023 Books Are My Bag Readers’ Award for Young Adult Fiction. It is Croucher’s YA debut, following adult rom-coms including Reputation and Infamous. Croucher’s second YA novel, Not for the Faint of Heart, is a queer romantic comedy featuring Mariel, the granddaughter of Robin Hood, and Clem, a healer who is kidnapped by the Merry Men.

The YA Book Prize was awarded by a judging panel that included author, screenwriter and former recipient of the YA Book Prize Alice Oseman; CEO and co-founder of book subscription service FairyLoot, Anissa de Gomery; content creator Gavin Hetherington; and teenage students from schools in London and Edinburgh.

Croucher was awarded the £2,000 (A$3890) prize on 22 August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The winner of the 2023 YA Book Prize was Danielle Jawando for When Our Worlds Collided (S&S Children’s).

Category: International news