Who is popular today?

Richard Owain Roberts has won the public vote with Hello Friend We Missed You, but will the judges crown him winner?
The judging meeting starts at 11am GMT
The votes are in and we have a clear leader: Hello Friend We Missed You by Richard Owain Roberts with 97 eligible votes. More than 30 votes behind that is Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell with 62. Close behind that Underdogs: Tooth And Nail by Chris Bonnello with 41 votes. Extremely close behind that, Hashim & Family by Shahnaz Ahsan with 39 votes. And then we have The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré and Akin by Emma Donoghue with 12 and five votes respectively.
Well done to all the many fans of Richard Owain Roberts. His novel carries two points over into the final round. But! Three points go to our judges who have diligently read all the books. It’s now up to them to decide if there’s a more deserving winner … They each have one vote. It’s possible that Hello Friend We Missed You may not win. In other words, there’s still a lot to play for, and a strong motivation to watch the judging meeting carefully. That happens at 11am, right here. Technology permitting, we’ll be posting a live stream shortly so you can watch our brave judges as they reach their verdict. I can’t wait to hear what they decide. Continue reading...