Sue Klauber's ‘Cobalt’ is Highly Commended in Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
We’re delighted by the news that Cobalt by Sue Klauber has been Highly Commended in the Young Quills Awards 2025 for best historical fiction for young people!
Each year, the Historical Association runs the Young Quills, a competition for published historical fiction for children and young adults (14+). The Young Quills books for each year are given to schools, where the children and young people write a review of each book following the Awards’ criteria. Their reviews are then used as the basis for the Awards shortlist, from which the final winners are selected.
Cobalt is the exciting follow-up story to Sue’s debut novel Zinc (2022), in which three Jewish siblings - John, George and Eva - continue to play key roles in the WW2 war effort, encountering high stakes and thrilling adventures in the UK and across war-torn Europe.
Like Zinc, Cobalt is based on the extraordinary real-life experiences of Sue’s father, uncle and aunt. The story highlights the positive and courageous contribution that many immigrants to the UK made during WW2 in helping to defeat the Nazis.
The Young Quills judges said, “This book takes the reader on a journey of excitement and bravery without ever losing sight of the realities of conflict and its brutality. Based on a true story, it reminds the reader that war isn’t only one story and that personal identity in a time period isn’t solely a single narrative. Instead it tells the story of how three Jewish siblings each fight back against Nazism in their different ways.”
Author Sue Klauber
Author Sue Klauber says, “I'm absolutely thrilled to be highly commended in the 14+ category and it means even more to me because young people were involved in the shortlisting process. It's an honour to be recognised by the Historical Association in this way and I'm deeply grateful for the recognition.”
Discover more about Sue Klauber and her books Cobalt. and Zinc.
Read more about the Awards, including the above-mentioned young people’s book reviews, and see the fill list of winners at www.history.org.uk/primary/categories/977/news/4440/young-quills-2025-the-winners