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Roddy Doyle has become only the second author ever to have the chance of winning both the Booker Prize and the CILIP Carnegie Medal, with his book, A Greyhound of a Girl (Marion Lloyd Books), among those shortlisted for the prestigious children's prize this year.
Meanwhile, Helen Oxenbury and Emily Gravett are each on course for an unprecedented third win of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, with both illustrators featuring on the eight-strong shortlist.
The awards, which honour writing for children and children's illustration respectively, and are supported by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), are judged by a panel of children's librarians.
Doyle won the Booker Prize, since renamed the Man Booker, for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha in 1993. If he were to win the Carnegie also, he would join writer Penelope Lively, who won the Carnegie Medal in 1973 for The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, and subsequently took the Booker Prize in 1987 for Moon Tiger.
Three first-time authors join Doyle on the Carnegie shortlist: The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury); A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton (David Fickling Books), and Wonder by R J Palacio (Bodley Head).
The shortlist also includes Costa Children's Book of the Year winner, Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner (Hot Key Books), Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick (Indigo), and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Electric Monkey). Nick Lake's In Darkness (Bloomsbury) completes the list.
Meanwhile, Helen Oxenbury's work on King Jack and the Dragon (Puffin Books), and Again! by Emily Gravett (Macmillan Children's Books) are among those shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Both illustrators have already won the prize twice, and if either take the prize, it would be an unprecedented hat-trick.
Titles from Walker Books claim three spots on the shortlist, with Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen and Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author) all making the grade.
Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb (Macmillan Children's Books), Pirates 'n' Pistols by Chris Mould (Hodder Children's Books) and Black Dog by Levi Pinfold (Templar Publishing) complete the line-up.
Karen Robinson, chair of the judging panel for 2013 and Youth Libraries group chair elect, said: "Masterful storytelling is in evidence in the Carnegie list, with powerful narratives leaping out and pulling the reader in. Big themes such as family death, disfigurement, genocide, and the devastating aftermath of the Haiti earthquake are handled with honesty, style and beauty.
"Meanwhile, there is much to admire, ponder, and laugh out loud at on the vibrant Kate Greenaway shortlist, which features a stunning range of illustration styles in titles from the established, through to the rising stars of picture books."
The winners will be announced on 19th June at an afternoon ceremony at the Natural History Museum in west London. The winners will each receive £500 worth of books to donate to their local library, and the coveted golden medals. The winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal will also be awarded the £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.