The longlist for the 2016 Branford Boase Award is announced today (Wednesday 3 February 2016). The Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children. Uniquely, it also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.   In what chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare describes as “an extraordinary year for debuts”, 23 books have made it onto the longlist. These include Lisa Williamson’s much acclaimed story of transgender teens The Art of Being Normal and Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot, Horatio Clare’s sensitive tale of depression, from new Welsh publisher Firefly Press. Comedians turned children’s authors Julian Clary and Danny Wallace have both made the longlist with The Bolds and Hamish and the Worldstoppers respectively.   Frances Hardinge last week announced as Costa Book of the Year winner won the Branford Boase Award in 2006 with Fly By Night and said that the award made her feel “a real writer” for the first time. The BBA judging panel has an extremely successful record in picking future best-selling and critically acclaimed authors. Other previous winners and shortlisted authors include Kevin Brooks, Siobhan Dowd, Meg Rosoff, Mal Peet, Philip Reeve, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Patrick Ness who all went on to win the UK’s most prestigious children’s book award, the CILIP Carnegie Medal; 2011 winner Jason Wallace won the Costa Children’s Book Award.   This year the judges are Russell Allen team leader for children’s services across the West Sussex Library Service, recently awarded Public Librarian of the Year; Simon Key, bookseller from the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green; Marion Lloyd, former children’s editor; and Rosie Rowell, author of Leopold Blue, winner of the 2015 Branford Boase Award. The panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children’s books editor of The Guardian.   Julia Eccleshare says: “It’s been an extraordinary year for debuts, and our longlist includes an enormously varied collection of interesting, well-written books. The boundaries of what is possible in books for children seems to be ever expanding. We read fantasy adventures, mysteries, time travel stories, political satires and more – all of which are designed to entertain children, for sure, but also to help them navigate the complexities of growing up in this hectic decade. As ever, the longlist demonstrates the might of children’s publishing in the UK, and the healthy state of what Frances Hardinge calls ‘the beautiful jungle’ of fiction for children and young people.”   The shortlist for the Award will be announced on 4 May 2016.  The winner will be announced in early July at a ceremony in London.   The Branford Boase Award longlist in full:   Othergirl by Nicole Burstein, edited by Charlie Sheppard (Andersen Press) Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot by Horatio Clare, edited by Penny Thomas (Firefly) The Bolds by Julian Clary, edited by Charlie Sheppard (Andersen Press). Illustrations by David Roberts The Baby by Lisa Drakeford, edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House) The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon & Schuster) Captive by A J Grainger, edited by Elv Moody and Christian Trimmer (Simon & Schuster) Seed by Lisa Heathfield, edited by Ali Dougal (Egmont) Deep Water by Lu Hersey, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne) Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr, edited by Ben Horslen (Penguin Random House) 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt, edited by Jessica Tarrant (Hachette) The Next Together by Lauren James, edited by Annalie Grainger (Walker) The Unlikely Mabel Jones by Will Mabbitt, edited by Ben Horslen (Penguin Random House). Illustrated by Ross Collins. Me and Mr J by Rachel McIntyre, edited by Stella Paskins (Egmont) The Accidental Prime Minister by Tom McLaughlin, edited by Clare Whitson (Oxford). Illustrated by the author. Girl on a Plane by Miriam Moss, edited by Charlie Sheppard (Andersen Press) The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, edited by Genevieve Herr (Scholastic) My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons, edited Kirsty Stansfield (Chicken House) Birdy by Jess Vallance, edited by Emma Matthewson (Hot Key Books) Hamish and the Worldstoppers by Danny Wallace, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon & Schuster). Illustrated by Jamie Littler One of Us by Jeannie Waudby, edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House) Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford edited by Nicholas Lake (HarperCollins) The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson, edited by Bella Pearson (David Fickling Books) The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine, edited by Alison Dougal and Hannah Sandford (Egmont)