2019 Shortlist

The Parliament Room, Gloucester Cathedral, once again hosted the David Vaisey Prize shortlist event. On the evening of Monday 2 September Rachel Joyce, Chair of Judges, made the eagerly awaited announcement following a short introduction by Jamila Gavin. The lucky libraries are listed below in alphabetical order and earned a minimum prize of £1,000:

  • Bishops Cleeve. The Library @ Orchard House is a pop-up library within a residential home. Since the residents can’t get to the library, the library goes to them.
  • Gloucester. Cre8eXplore is a family-based interactive story time without age restrictions or language barriers with a different theme each month; the theme itself can be influenced by cultural activities held in or around the city of Gloucester.
  • Lydney. We love stories is a weekly story-telling session that explores the substance behind stories through role-play, crafts and music.
  • North Cotswolds Library Cluster. The Little Library aims to provide free books to the users of North Cotswolds Foodbank in the form of a small library the size of a dolls’ house; it’s packed with new books and made by ‘Men in Sheds’, a community volunteer group. North Cotswolds was subsequently announced as the winner.

For more on the 2019 prize-giving event, held at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival on Sunday 6 October, click here for the Home page.

Chair of Judges Rachel Joyce (far left) at the shortlist announcement event together with fellow judges (left to right) Jamila Gavin, Caroline Sanderson and Julian Hasler . All pictures courtesy of Simon Pizzey.

At the shortlist event Jamila Gavin reflects on the judges’ difficult task
Chair of Trustees, Jonathan Taylor, opening proceedings
The occasion at Gloucester Cathedral was very well attended
Gloucester MP Richard Graham concludes the event by congratulating all participating libraries, each of which earned a minimum of £100 for their trouble