Gaiman to Receive Prestigious Newbery

In 2008, January Magazine loved Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, a beautifully illustrated work of more-or-less connected short stories.

We weren’t alone. The New York Times remarks that the book has received the 2009 Newbery Medal:

Neil Gaiman, a renowned author of science fiction, fantasy, graphic novels and comics aimed at adults, won the John Newbery Medal for the year’s most outstanding contribution to children’s literature on Monday.

Mr. Gaiman, 48, won for “The Graveyard Book,” a story about a boy who is raised in a cemetery by ghosts after his family is killed in the opening pages of the novel. In announcing the winner of what is widely considered the most prestigious honor in children’s literature, the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, cited Mr. Gaiman’s work for its “delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing,” noting its “magical, haunting prose.”

The New York Times piece is here. January’s review of the book is here. January’s 2001 interview with Gaiman is here.