Martin ‘delighted’ to receive prestigious Irish book award

Martin ‘delighted’ to receive prestigious Irish book award

27 November 2024

A NEWCASTLE children’s author will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at a prestigious annual Irish book awards event tonight.

Martin Waddell has been awarded the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2024.

The 83 year-old is the first children’s author to receive the award, which will be presented to him at the Convention Centre in Dublin. 

As the 2024 Lifetime Achievement recipient, he will join a host of other distinguished recipients including Sebastian Barry, Maeve Binchy and Seamus Heaney.

With more than 100 books to his credit and 25 million sold worldwide, Waddell is one of the most prolific and successful children’s writers, having previously also written thrillers and adult fiction.

Mr Waddell said he was “delighted” to be receiving the accolade, especially as “children’s books are often not given the same status as adult novels”.

His most famous book is Owl Babies (1992), a picture book about three baby owls waiting anxiously for their mother to return. It has become a timeless classic, widely read in homes and schools alike, and praised for its reassuring message of maternal love and security.

The book was inspired by a trip to the supermarket in Newcastle where Mr Waddell saw a distressed child crying for their mother.

Equally popular are the Little Bear books, illustrated by Barbara Firth, which explore themes of friendship, family, and adventure. 

Discussing the themes he explores in his work for children, Mr Waddell said: “Stories open a window and help us to validate our own lives. I try to ask questions and pose problems in my writing, rather than telling children how to feel.”

Mr Waddell believes one of the most important things to consider when writing children’s stories is to “never leave a book without hope.”

A former student at Down High School, Mr Waddell left school at 15 with dreams of becoming a footballer. 

He then turned to writing in early adulthood, with his first book being published in 1966 when he was 25.

After being caught up in an explosion in Donaghadee in 1972, Mr Waddell was out of work for a number of years. During this time his wife became the main breadwinner for the family while Mr Waddell looked after his three small sons. 

It was during this time that he wrote many of his children’s books, including Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?

“For five or six years I couldn’t write until my children had gone to sleep,” he recalled. “My wife showed great strength. She helped make my career possible and gave me a chance to learn to write”.

Coming from a family of writers, Waddell is the great-nephew of Irish writer Helen Waddell. 

He also has a number of famous fans. Former UK Prime Minister John Major revealed he read Mr Waddell’s Napper Goes For Goal as bedtime reading.

 Moreover, Mr Waddell was invited to the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll in 2004, as the author was informed that then US President George W Bush’s wife, Laura, had enjoyed his book, Tom Rabbit. 

Soon after Mr Waddell won the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson Award in 2004, known as the ‘little Nobel Prize’ which is considered the highest international recognition for an author of children’s books. 

He is also a two-time winner of the Smarties Book Prize and received the Kurt Maschler Award among others.

In conferring the award, the Board of the Irish Book Awards said: “You would struggle to find an Irish parent who hasn’t read these books to their children at one time or another and all Irish booksellers owe Martin a massive debt for the privilege of selling and recommending his wonderful go-to classics.

“Waddell’s signature style is simple, direct and suffused with an instinctive empathy for the concerns of children and their parents. 

“His legacy is far-reaching, as his stories continue to be cherished by new generations of readers around the world.

Larry Mac Hale, Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards, said he was delighted to present the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award to Martin Waddell. 

He said: “His storytelling captures the hearts of readers both young and old, and his work is filled with warmth, imagination and a deep understanding of childhood, making him one of the most beloved voices in children’s literature. 

“Waddell’s ability to bring characters to life and explore universal emotions with such tenderness and insight makes him a worthy recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.”