The prestigious Booker Prize organisers have announced the launch of a new prize for children’s fiction, set to feature a panel of child and adult judges.
The Children’s Booker Prize, which will launch in 2026 and be awarded annually from 2027, will celebrate the best contemporary fiction for children aged eight to 12 years old, written in or translated in English and published in the UK and Ireland.
According to a statement by the Booker Prize, the aim of the prize is to engage and grow a new generation of readers through recognising and championing the best children’s fiction from writers around the world.
Their nominated works will join almost 700 books in the Booker Library.
Beyond being a prize
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation highlighted the ambitious nature of the project in a statement, saying: “The Children’s Booker Prize is the most ambitious endeavour we’ve embarked on in 20 years – and we hope its impact will resonate for decades to come.
“It aims to be several things at once: an award that will champion future classics written for children; a social intervention designed to inspire more young people to read; and a seed from which we hope future generations of lifelong readers will grow.
“In other words, the Children’s Booker Prize is not just a prize – it’s part of a movement: a cause that children, parents, carers, teachers and everyone in the world of storytelling can get behind.”
Indeed, an annual survey by the National Literacy Trust conducted earlier this year revealed that reading enjoyment among children and young people in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in two decades, with the decline particularly pronounced in teen boys.
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Judging process
The prize will be judged by a mixed panel of adult and child judges, adding a unique spin to the judging process.
Multi-award-winning children’s book author Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who is the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate, is set to be the inaugural Chair of Judges for the prize.
He will be joined by two other adult judges to select a shortlist of eight books.
Three child judges will also be recruited, with the support of schools and a range of partners across the culture and entertainment industries, to join the adults in choosing the winning book.
According to the Booker Prize organisers, the process will provide children with decision-making power in the outcome, ensuring that the book is recommended by young readers to their peers.
As with the Booker Prize and International Booker Prize, the shortlisted authors will each receive £2,500 and the winning author £50,000.
This ensures that children’s prize recipients are given the same level of financial reward and recognition as their counterparts writing fiction for adults.
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