Project Spotlight: Diane Wins the Jericho Prize 2021

Diane Ewen was named the winner of The Jericho Prize 2021 for the Best Picture Book manuscript (4+). The Jericho Prize is open to Black-British writers with great stories to inspire children aged 4 years plus and 7–9.

Diane Ewen: “My story is about the strength and the relevance of intergenerational relationships, together with determination and persistence. It is about a little boy called Winston who is very happy with his life, except for one thing. He LOVES music and really wants to play a musical instrument, but he has failed miserably at everything he has tried. One afternoon, his grandfather shows him his much-loved old steel pans, and when Winston hears the magical music his grandpa makes, he wants nothing more than to learn to play. But will he be able to learn this new, special instrument?

“I chose the theme because it related so much to the Caribbean fun-loving culture of music and the connection that Caribbean people maintain towards the islands of their birth. They love to tell stories all the time to the younger generation, and they’ll always contain a joke or two within them.”