An author who was thrown out of Oxford University has won a prestigious award for children’s writing. Andy Stanton won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize with ‘Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear’, a book filled with dark humour surrounding the curmudgeonly behaviour of the title character.
The prize, worth £2,500, is designed to draw attention to new children’s writing and encourage young readers to read more books.
Stanton spent twelve years working in odd jobs after leaving the university but found success after writing the series of books to entertain his cousins. His series is now to be made into a Nickelodeon animation.
