The Manchester Book Award is a project run in Manchester, UK, organised by School Services at the Manchester Library & Information Service; it is funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The project is currently in its fourth year.
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Each year, a longlist of twenty-four children's books is drawn up from nominations by secondary-school pupils, school and library staff, and publishers. To be eligible for the longlist books have to be standalone books (that is, not sequels) published between 1 July and 30 June, written by authors living in the UK. Reading groups in schools and libraries then narrow this to a shortlist of six. In the following January, young people across Manchester start voting for their favourite, either online or in libraries and schools; voting for the 2009 award closed on 5 March.
The winner of the award is announced each year at a ceremony at the City of Manchester Stadium attended by pupils from the 24 state secondary schools in Manchester. The ceremony was compered in 2008 and 2009 by Paul Sleem.
The 2009 award was announced by Julie Hesmondhalgh, star of 'Coronation Street', on 11 March 2009.