It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the book's rise from relative obscurity.
[1] The inaugural, 1985 Phoenix Award recognized The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff (Oxford, 1965).
"Books are considered not only for the quality of their illustrations, but for the way pictures and text work together to tell a story (whether fact or fiction).
Several of the winners have also received the British Carnegie Medal for other books: Sutcliff (1959); Garner (1967); Garfield (1970); Southall (1971); Hunter (1974); Dickinson (1979, 1980); Mahy (1982, 1984); Doherty (1986, 1991).
Three of the winners have also won the American Newbery Medal for other books: Konigsburg (1968 and 1997); Paterson (1978, 1981); Hesse (1998).