Southern Schools Book Award 2026 Presentation Evening
Friday February 27th 2026, 5.00 pm, Hurstpierpoint College
A slightly dreary evening in February was enlivened by nearly 300 young people who had converged on Hurstpierpoint College for the Southern Schools Book Award Presentation Evening. Reading can be a solitary experience so it was gratifying to see so many people enthusiastically chatting about the chosen books and about reading in general. Pupils from twenty nine schools were in the auditorium experiencing it live as well as other schools watching it via YouTube streaming.
As schools started to arrive, those already in the auditorium were entranced by Chris Riddell, who was on magnificent form live-drawing the event. Head of Hurst College, Dominic Mott introduced the event and enjoyed sharing his love of reading with a room of like-minded people before handing over to Clare Furniss, last year’s winner, who was our excellent host for the evening. She talked about how important it was to her that young people decided who had won and audience certainly agreed with her.
Four of the shortlisted authors were able to attend: Adam Connors (Find me After), Rachel Delahaye (Splinters), Scarlett Dunmore (How to survive a horror movie) and Olivia Levez (Silver). Sadly, William Hussey (The boy I love) was unable to attend, but sent a heartfelt speech which was beautifully illustrated by Chris Riddell.
Adam Connors talked about how he had the idea for the book after yet another epilepsy attack and waking up face down on the kitchen floor in body but not in mind and how reality is warped and that what we see is just the interpretation of what our brain interprets as reality.
Rachel Delahaye talked about wondering who she was once she became a mother and reconciling her new self with her teenage self. She said that to live you have to feel everything and that experiences give your life light.
Scarlett Dunmore discussed how horror had evolved since the era of ‘Scream Queens’ and her preference for heroines who aren’t victims, who fight back and defeat the killer through their intellect, not brute strength.
William Hussey’s speech, which was read out by Clare Furniss, was about his desire to show how a country that they fought for punished gay men who had been part of World War 1.
Olivia Levez said that coming to SSBA was like coming home, as she grew up in Brighton. She spoke about the eclectic nature of her work and the idea that everyone. She talked about taking all her characters back to basics and seeing what was at their core. She also spoke about our perception of normality and asked the audience what made them sure that the person next to them wasn’t a bodysnatcher.
Then it was time for the questions. Rachel Delahaye was asked how writing her book changed her perception of herself. She answered that it helped her make peace with herself and helped her be kinder to herself.
Scarlett Dunmore was asked whether she related to any of her characters. She responded saying it was split between Charlie because of his filmic mindset and Olive, because of her snappy one-liners.
Olivia Levez was asked whether she thought we would ever make contact with alien life-forms and she responded that she agreed with Stephen Hawking that there are trillions of stars and galaxies so it would be arrogant to think they didn’t exist!
William Hussey was asked why he decided to keep both of the main characters alive and he responded that he wanted to avoid the trope of killing off gay characters. He also thought it was more impactful to show what punishment they faced, just for being gay.
Adam Connors was asked what happens next in Find Me After? Whilst apologising for the cliffhanger ending, he also pointed out it was a bit like a seizure because there’s no warning and things just stop. He said he liked the idea of Farah slowly remembering as Kyle prompts her.
A palpable sense of excitement filled the space as everyone waited to see who had won.
There was a huge round of applause when Adam Connors received the Highly Commended award. He said congratulations should go to the readers because they read the book. He said that books are telepathy, they’re a way of putting pictures into a person’s head, which is a lovely way to think about it.
Scarlett Dunmore was announced as the overall winner and told the audience how much it meant to her to win an award decided by young people. She encouraged everyone to continue reading because that’s how great writers are made. Appropriately for her winning book she quoted Stephen King: “You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.”
We look forward to her hosting next year’s award!
At the book signing afterwards pupils contentedly waited to get a book signed by the author of their choice as well as a goody bag. Everyone agreed that the evening had been brilliant and left with huge smiles on their faces, clutching their next read.
One librarian said “meeting the authors in person was the absolute highlight of the evening, an experience our youngsters will always treasure.”
This a such a lovely event as everyone who attends enjoys themselves and it is a pleasure to have so many passionate readers under one roof. Twenty two years after its inception, this remains one of the most beloved reading awards for young people. We look forward to next year.
