[ CATHERINE WILKINS ]

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You're Not the Boss of Me!

Thursday 17th February 2022






RELEASED MARCH 3rd 2022

A laugh-out-loud story about fighting for your right to steal the show, from the much-loved author of the My Best Friend and Other Enemies series.

Amy Miller is a very positive person and she is fully prepared to be the star of the school Comedy Show. But when Harry is put in charge, he stops her from performing or writing or doing anything fun.

Amy can't understand what's happening until her sister tells her: Harry is being sexist, and Amy must take a stand. Armed only with killer one-liners, Amy goes into battle to fight for her right to make people laugh.

A brilliantly funny new story from Catherine Wilkins, stand-up comedian, podcaster and author of When Good Geeks Go Bad,The Weird Friends Fan Club and the My Best Friend and Other Enemies series.

Learn more here. Read an exclusive early extract here.

And in December 2024 it won an award!

'You're Not The Boss Of Me' wins Best Laugh Out Loud Book for Teens at the 2024 Lollie Awards.

Voted for by thousands of readers, the winners were announced at an Awards Ceremony at the Southbank Centre, hosted by Stephen Mangan on the 5th December 2024. The Teen Award was presented by Ella McLeod.

The awards, (previously known as the Roald Dahl Awards, and The Smarties) celebrates the best and funniest children's books in the UK and Ireland. Put on by Scholastic, the Lollies are widely considered to be the top prize for funny books in children's publishing, and are voted for by the children themselves.  

 

There are seven categories, Picture Books, Books for 6-8-year-olds, Books for 9-12-year-olds, Books for Teens, Poetry Books, Non-Fiction Books and Illustrator of the Year. Once the judges have decided on a short list, children get to vote. The shortlist is announced in May and the voting ends in October, with the Awards themselves in December.

 

One Publisher said, 'funny books don't always seem to get as much coverage in other book awards, so it's great to have one that is especially for the hilarious books that lots of children love to read.' Another said, 'It's fantastic that the children get to vote for their favourites, rather than it being decided by what the grown-ups think they should be reading.'

Wilkins said she was 'thrilled' to win the Teen Lollie Award and thanked her agent and publisher, and all the 'talented, creative people working so hard to celebrate and promote funny books.'

This year the Ceremony was at The South Bank Centre and hosted by Stephen Mangan, with awards presented by Michael Rosen, George Webster, Axel Scheffler, Liz Pichon, Ella McLeod and some of the CBeebies Panto. 

 

The audience largely consisted of children from selected schools, representing some of the wider voters, and it was a fun, slightly raucous environment for the authors, reminiscent of a Comedy Club 4 Kids gig. 

 

Past winners include Liz Pichon, David Baddiel, Michelle Robinson, Joshua Seigal, David Solomons, Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. 

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