By Laurie Hertzel
Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book," which won the Hugo Award, the Newbery Award, and the Locus Award here in the U.S., has now been shortlisted for the Booktrust teenage prize in the U.K. (Booktrust is an independent charity that promotes and encourages reading for all cultures and all age groups.)
The London Guardian suggests that Gaiman will face pretty stiff competition in the Bookman, which carries an award of £2,500. "Last year's winner, Patrick Ness, and the Carnegie nominee Keith Gray join Gaiman on a shortlist not afraid to tackle the darker side of life," it reports.
Gaiman's book, as you likely already know, opens with a mysterious killer moving through a house, killing everyone except a baby, who manages to escape and make his way to a cemetery, where it is raised by ghosts. Dark, indeed.
The winner will be announced in November.
