You may recall that on Monday 5 I posted on “Reading the Mythopoeic Children’s Award Finalists” and ranked my own personal order for the five finalists, ahead of the official decision, which was released Monday, 12 July.

In the end I did not quite accord with the judges, who have given the Children’s Award to Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown).  I gave the overall palm to Malinda Lo’s Ash, with Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as my second choice—but with the following commentary:

” . . . I found this a charming story and I felt it was one of the strongest contenders in terms of weaving elements of traditional Chinese folklore into an entertaining and adventurous quest for the young heroine.  I also gave it bonus points for the clear thread within the story of values such as compassion and mercy, in terms of being written in the “spirit of the Inklings”.

So I am still delighted with the outcome and pleased that the Awards gave me the impetus to read all 5 finalists.

And of course, my congratulations to all the winners, with the full list as follows:

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature: Jo Walton, Lifelode (NESFA Press)

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature: Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies: Dimitra Fimi, Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies: Marek Oziewicz, One Earth, One People: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Series of Ursula K. Le Guin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle and Orson Scott Card (McFarland, 2008)

And thanks to the Mythopoeic Society for giving us the awards.