Judging alongside Rosen were Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon and illustrator Tony Ross, Yes Man author and journalist Danny Wallace and author Grace Dent.
Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson, Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon and the authors behind the Rainbow Magic series, all clocked up more than a million loans last year.
In any case, it felt like a king's ransom, and along with the fine crystal and china, Simon's flowing Hebrew and Henry's starlet, the evening always felt somewhat magical.