BorD gáis energy international recognition awarD
DAVID WALLIAMS
T
he Bord gáis energy international recognition award aims to honour international writers who, in the view of the irish Book awards board, have contributed substantially to the health and wealth of the irish book-trade. recipients will have a large corpus of popular work behind them; will have sales figures counted in the millions; and will have endeared themselves to irish booksellers throughout their careers. this year’s recipient satisfies all of these criteria in spades and he is mega-selling children’s author, David walliams. Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books for almost a decade, David Walliams is a global phenomenon in the world of publishing and his books have revolutionised reading for children. His ability to wow fans is unprecedented, with global sales exceeding 20 million copies and his books translated into 53 languages. Walliams is the fastest growing children’s author in the UK and Ireland this decade and countless broadsheet reviewers have compared him to his all-time hero, Roald Dahl, the accolade of accolades in the field of children’s books. As booksellers, we are eternally grateful to David Walliams, not just for the music of the cash-register but because, like Roald Dahl, his wonderfully inventive books, like Ratburger, Gangsta Granny and Mr Stink brilliantly illustrated by Tony Ross, have inspired children to develop the reading habit, possibly for a lifetime.
For all of these reasons, we are delighted to award David Walliams the 2017 Bord Gáis Energy International Recognition Award, which will be presented at the Gala Dinner in Dublin on 28th November. Irish booksellers offer their warmest congratulations to David on this richlydeserved award.
David walliams’ award-winning books have become an eagerly anticipated part of every family’s festive season. his latest novel, Bad Dad, illustrated by the amazing tony ross, delivers all the hallmarks of a walliams classic and will no doubt be at the top of everyone’s christmas wish list. Bad Dad is coming to all good book retailers on 2nd november with simultaneous ebook and audio publication. David walliams said, “Bad Dad is about a boy named Frank whose dad is thrown into prison for driving the getaway car in a bank robbery. Frank hatches a daring plan to break his father out of prison for the night so they can put the stolen money back. But will the evil crime boss Mr Big stop them?”
BORD GÁIS ENERGY IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2017 13