Children from across the county have voted for their favourite read as the winner of the annual East Sussex Children’s Book Award has been announced.
Hercules: The Diary of a (Sort Of) Hero by Tom Vaughan was revealed as this year’s winner at a special awards ceremony held earlier this week at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
Telling the tale of Hercules Braver’s challenge to survive his new secondary school and live up to his name, the book is a poignant yet hilarious story full of mythical magic and real-world mayhem.
Winning author Tom Vaughan said: “It is an absolute total honour to win the award, especially as I grew up in Sussex. Winning this award is super, super special because it’s voted for by the children. There is no greater honour than when I see kids picking up Hercules and enjoying his exploits and adventures. It touches my heart that children are reading it.”
Since December children aged 8 to 11 from across the county have been reading six shortlisted books before voting for their favourite last month. 300 pupils from 14 primary schools attended the awards event to see which of the shortlisted titles would be crowned the eventual winner.