Author Georgina Moore has won big at The Isle of Wight Book Awards for her debut novel The Garnett Girls. The awards, which have now run for three years and were founded by Sunday Times journalist and author Hunter Davies and independent bookshop Medina Books, were held in Cowes on 1st October at The Island Sailing Club.
The judges yesterday were Hunter Davies (fiction), Alan Titchmarsh (non-fiction) and Anne McNeil (children’s).
The winners
Georgina Moore won the Fiction Prize for The Garnett Girls, which is set on the Island.
Patrick Crowley won the Non-Fiction Prize for Rose, Castle and Crown and Michael E Willis author of Troubled shared the Children’s Prize with Peter J Murray author of The Darker Side of Wight.
The awards were sponsored by Hovertravel, Isle of Wight Festival and David and Patsy Franks.
Davies: Such a worthy winner
Out of 38 entries, the overall Book of the Year prize went to Georgina Moore, as Hunter Davies, founder and judge said,
“So professional and well written.
“I found The Garnett Girls so engaging and soooo Isle of Wight.
“Such a worthy winner.”
Titchmarsh: Very enjoyable and quite surprising
Alan Titchmarsh said,
“Very enjoyable and quite surprising for a debut novel.
“Characters you care about and a good sense of place.”
McNeil: Georgina brought the Island to life for me
While Anne McNeil said,
“There was a real lightness of touch to The Garnett Girls. I loved the escapism and the sense of place. Georgina brought the Island to life for me in the way that Mary Wesley brought Cornwall to life.”
Armfield: A very popular winner
Paul Armfield from Medina Books in Cowes said,
“Whenever there’s a new novel set on the Island there will be an initial curiosity that will bring the first wave of sales, and then, depending on what those first readers thought of the book, sales will either slow to a dwindling trickle or gather in momentum.
“The Garnett Girls has absolutely snowballed and has flown off our shelves, both in hardback and paperback. A very popular winner!”
Hundreds raised for charity
Along with a raffle, the judge’s copies of all books entered for award were sold on the day to raise funds for Isle of Wight Search And Rescue, Jenny Johnston gave a wonderful presentation about the work of the charity at the beginning of the lunch and a total of £630 was raised.
2025 Awards
Entry for next year’s awards open from 31st March to 31st May and is free to anyone published (self-published or professionally released) during the previous year.
The only conditions are the book must have a physical form and that there has to be some element of Isle of Wight content.
The full shortlist is:
Fiction:
- 3rd Prize: ‘Julia’ by David Hughes
- 2nd Prize: ‘Sisters’ by Rose O’Meara
- 1st Prize: ‘The Garnett Girls’ by Georgina Moore
Non Fiction:
- 3rd Prize: ‘100 Treasures and Curiosities From The Collection Of Carisbrooke Castle Museum’ By Dr Rachel Tait & Kate Tiley
- 2nd Prize: ‘Uffa: Yachting’s Eccentric Genius’ by Malcolm Turner
- 1st Prize: ‘Rose, Castle and Crown’ by Patrick Crowley
Children’s:
- Joint 1st: ‘The Darker Side Of Wight’ by Peter J Murray
- Joint 1st: ‘Trouble’ by Michael E Wills
News shared by Paul on behalf of Medina Books. Ed
