We're delighted that author Mal Peet has won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for his novel Exposure, a heady mix of scandal, celebrity and and soccer, based on Shakepeare's Othello. Congratulations Mal!
Guardian's children's books editor Julia Eccleshare said that Peet "handles big themes with supreme confidence". "He is a very good storyteller who can create a rich and ambitious novel," she said, adding that Exposure "includes much wisdom on the whole issue of celebrity"
Here's a taste of the action: "A massive soccer star has it all, but someone is plotting his downfall...Revered as a national hero...married to the desirable Desmerelda...cherished by the media...soccer star, Otello, has it all. But a sensational club transfer sparks a media frenzy, and when he is wrongly implicated in a scandal, the footballer's life turns into a tragic spiral of destruction. South America's top sports journalist, Paul Faustino, witnesses the power of the media in making and breaking people's lives."