The popular webcomic artist, Alex Norris, was presented with the award, along with a prize of £2,000, at last night’s ALCS Annual Awards ceremony at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London.

How To Love: A Guide to Feelings & Relationships for Everyone is a guide to relationships of all shapes and sizes aimed at teenagers.

On winning the award, Alex Norris said: “Thank you so much, this means a lot. This was a really hard book to write. I spent a long time making it as I wanted to make a well-crafted non-fiction book. The subject is important; if you give bad advice to people of any age about love and relationships it can effect people’s lives quite drastically. I wanted to give them good advice but also not to tell people what to do. I wanted to encourage young people to think about it for themselves, and that was very difficult so I’m really grateful to receive this award.”

Judge Kevin Cobane said of the winner: “How to Love was a book that won the hearts and minds of all of the judges. Warm, witty and wise, and beautifully illustrated throughout, this is an accessible, inclusive and insightful guide to friendships, relationships and love in all its many forms. Brimming with empathy and compassion, Alex’s brilliantly written and illustrated book will resonate with teens and adults alike and this is a book that should be in every school and library.”

The shortlist for this years’ award included books that encourage young readers to think about respect and consent for teenage boys; forgotten histories and misrepresented stories; what it means to grow up queer; and how Britain’s imperial history still affects our lives today.

The ALCS Educational Writers’ Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity, encourages students to read widely and builds up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications.