CHILDREN came face to face with their literary heroes for the Oxfordshire Book Award.

Youngsters nominated, shortlisted and voted for their favourite books before three winners were crowned.

And on Thursday, children from schools across the county got to meet writer Nadia Shireen, author of Good Little Wolf, Patrick Ness, who wrote A Monster Calls, and illustrator Tony Ross, who illustrated David Walliams’s Gangsta Granny.

The contest was devised by Burford School librarian Lynne Cooper, who has also thrown her support behind the Oxfordshire Reading Campaign.

Mrs Cooper described the opportunity for youngsters to meet the people behind their favourite books as “inspirational”.

She said: “When they get to meet their favourite authors, they want to read all of their books, not just the ones they voted for. It’s a great opportunity which I think the children really enjoy.”

She said the number of youngsters involved was increasing all the time, with schools clamouring to get involved.

Mrs Cooper said: “There are so many other distractions nowadays but it is very refreshing to see children enjoy reading and inspirational books which transport them to other worlds.”

In relation to the reading campaign, she said: “It’s really important to start at primary school because if there is no love of reading instilled, it is much more difficult to get it going in Year 7.

“We have some absolutely frenetic readers who borrow lots of books every week then we have some children you never see.”

Author Patrick Ness described winning an award voted for by children as “the biggest compliment” a children’s writer could get.

He said: “Children aren’t going to lie or pretend to like anything.

“That they have picked your books is an amazing thing.”

Nadia Shireen, who is currently expecting her first child, said she was “thrilled” to win the award.

She said: “I’m over the moon. It’s my first book of any kind and even being published is still quite hard to believe, so winning awards is quite unbelievable.”

Tony Ross added: “Most awards are chosen by adults so they are really more a reflection on the adults who chose them rather than the quality of the book itself. It’s good to be picked.”

The children who helped select the winners were full of praise for their favourite authors.