Indie Book Awards 2021 winner: My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay

Lemn Sissay took home the Non-Fiction Award at the 2021 Indie Book Awards for his book memoir My Name Is Why.
About My Name Is Why:
At the age of seventeen, after a childhood in a foster family followed by six years in care homes, Norman Greenwood was given his birth certificate. He learned that his real name was not Norman. It was Lemn Sissay. He was British and Ethiopian. And he learned that his mother had been pleading for his safe return to her since his birth. This is Lemn’s story: a story of neglect and determination, misfortune and hope, cruelty and triumph.
Sissay reflects on his childhood, self-expression and Britishness, and in doing so explores the institutional care system, race, family and the meaning of home. Written with all the lyricism and power you would expect from one of the nation’s best-loved poets, this moving, frank and timely memoir is the result of a life spent asking questions, and a celebration of the redemptive power of creativity.
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Honouring the paperback books of the summer as voted for by independent booksellers, the Indie Book Awards celebrate the best reads for the summer, recommending the books that readers should be taking on holiday (or on their staycations) this summer. The winners were announced on Scala Radio, the official media partner of the Indie Book Awards.
The judging panel for the Adult categories consists of booksellers Tina Gaisford-Waller (Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books), Saber Khan (Toppings, Bath), Sam Fisher (Burley Fisher Books), Alice Carr (Blackwell’s, Edinburgh) and Hachette author Will Dean.
The Children’s categories were judged by Nicola Lee (Children’s Bookshop, Lindley), Mariana Mouzinho (Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books), India Chambers (Round Table Books), Gill Edwards (Little Ripon Bookshop) and Hachette author Patrice Lawrence.
For further information on the Indie Book Awards visit: booksaremybag.com/IndieBookAw...
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