Excelsior Award Red 2024


2024 Shortlist

The books on the Excelsior Award Red shortlst have been designated as suitable for children aged 14+ (or Key Stage 4 in schools)

Click on the book's title for extra information


A winter so cold that Mr. Freeze - Victor Fries - no longer needs his containment suit to survive. He is in an element where he can thrive.

Robin empathises with Mr. Freeze. All Freeze wants to do is save his wife, Nora - but Batman warns Robin not to give his empathy to Victor Fries. He’s a man who decided his own fate a long time ago and he deserves none of our warmth. And this winter... he will show his true wickedness and power.

Details

Writers: Gerry Duggan

Artist: Matteo Scalera

Published by DC Comics

ISBN-13: 978-1779520081

Celtic folklore and modern moxie collide as an ancient pact between worlds is broken. The sinister forces of Faerie have slipped their shackles, and the Black Dog walks abroad this night.

On the rural Isle of Man, aspiring singer-songwriter Kay Farragher dreams of escaping her humdrum life. But she’s about to get more than she bargained for – and some bargains are not to be trusted...

Details

Writer: Andy Diggle

Artists: Nick Brokenshire

Published by Dark Horse

ISBN-13: 978-1506730875

Theseus, prince of Athens, awakens injured and bound inside an unknown hut. Facing him stands his captor – a mighty, bull-headed man! There, at the centre of the labyrinth built by engineer Daedalus for the king of Crete, Minos, Theseus is astonished to discover that the blood-thirsty monster that the legends describe is in fact a rational being named Asterios, who begins to recount the story of his life. Between the young Athenian sacrifice and the feared creature, grudging respect emerges … 

Details

Writer: Serge Le Tendre

Artist: Frédéric Peynet

Published by Cinebook

ISBN-13: 978-1800441156

Jessica Harrow is dead… but her journey has only just begun.

Discover the world of the afterlife, where Jessica has been recruited as a Reaper, tasked with ferrying countless souls to their final destination. But unlike the rest of the Reapers, Jess has no memory of what killed her and put her into this position. In order to unravel the mystery of her own demise, she'll have to solve an even bigger one – where is the actual Grim Reaper?

Details

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Flaviano

Published by Boom! Studios

ISBN-13: 978-1684158829

Swords! Sorcery! Superheroes! A brand-new DC Universe is born from writer Tom Taylor and artist Yasmine Putri.

An entire medieval world will be forever changed when a spaceship crash-lands from a doomed planet. Years later, the El Kingdom reigns and Jefferson Pierce, the head of the Kingdom of Storms sees their family as a threat and gathers allies to challenge them. Monarchs will die, kingdoms will rise, and what seemed like the end of the world for many… was only the beginning! An epic high-fantasy story set in a DC Universe where nothing is what it seems…

Details

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Yasmine Putri

Published by DC Comics

ISBN-13: 978-1779520517

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