New Year Predictions 2025

Author: Various Authors

Continuing war in Europe and the Middle East and a cost of living crisis that shows no sign of easing; 2024 ended pretty much as it began. How optimistic should we be for 2025 and what will be the shaping the world of children’s books? Books for Keeps asked those in the know for their predictions. AI, climate change and reading for pleasure are all preoccupations.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce

As Waterstones Children’s Laureate, I’ve spent the last few months visiting a range of settings – from family hubs to prisons – where books and shared reading are playing an active role in making life better for people.  I’ve seen some brilliant practise but also some scandalous, heart-scalding inequalities.  I hope – with the help of BookTrust and our Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future initiative – that I’ll be able to shine a spotlight on the very best practise and campaign to make sure every child gets the opportunity to have the best start, emotionally as well as educationally.

As a writer, the biggest issue is surely AI and what it’s going to do to the creative industries.  We’ve seen the damage that unregulated social media can do to our public discourse. I hope we’re not going to stand back and watch while the technocracy asset-strips our culture.  It’s easy to regulate.  The legal basis for punishing the stealing of created work was laid out by King Diarmaitat at Tara in 561 in the aftermath of the battle of Cul Dreimhne. So no need for a government inquiry.  Just do as the High King says: stop stealing other people’s work.  Or we’ll send you into exile on Iona.

 Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2024-26)

Barbara Hayes

In 2024, AI was on everybody’s minds, and we don’t expect that to change in 2025. We will continue to see the widespread use of authors’ works, without permission or compensation, to train AI models. This matters because average authors’ earnings are already below minimum wage, and the unregulated growth of AI-generated works will continue to drive this down further. There are, however, reasons to be optimistic going into 2025.

There is a growing consensus that the status quo can’t continue. On launching its consultation on AI and copyright at the end of 2024, the Government said so explicitly. We look forward to the opportunity of sharing our expertise, guided by the results of our recent survey of our members which showed that they want greater choice and transparency, and they want to be paid when their works are used.

We’re also heartened by the response of the wider creative industries who have come together to express the urgency of their concerns and push for a fairer outcome for creatives. It is vital that we protect and support the UK’s writers, illustrators and other creatives who produce the children’s books that are so beloved around the world. We, along with our partners, will be working tirelessly in the coming year to ensure that happens.

Barbara Hayes is Chief Executive ALCS (Authors Licensing and Collecting Society)

Lizzie Catford

At BookTrust, our main focus for 2025 is to continue our mission to get children and families reading together.

Our research has found that reading regularly and by choice can bring profound and wide-ranging benefits that can have a lifelong positive impact on children’s lives. But we know that if we want children to be motivated to read regularly, we need to ensure that they’re reading books they enjoy. Children need access to a broad range of reading materials that channel their interests, pique their curiosity, and inspire them to want to read.

I hope therefore that in 2025 we see a rise in more picture books which are also really engaging stories, with a strong narrative arc, as well as shorter middle-grade fiction for readers who are moving on from highly illustrated fiction. I also hope that the industry continues to prioritise long-term investment in creators of colour. Diversity and representation in stories and illustrations can positively affect how young readers see themselves, different lives and cultures, and the world around them.

Looking ahead, we predict that this year there will be some excellent graphic novels published. These are often more accessible for less confident readers and can help children begin their journey of finding lasting enjoyment in reading.

Lizzie Catford is BookTrust’s Director of Children’s Books overseeing BookTrust’s collaborations with publishers, authors, illustrators and the wider books sector.

Karen Napier

We stand at a critical intersection for children’s reading. The most significant trend we anticipate is a radical reimagining of what ‘reading’ means in a digital age. While traditional concerns about screen time persist, we’re seeing exciting opportunities emerge through digital platforms and interactive storytelling.

The Summer Reading Challenge has already demonstrated how technology can engage young readers, with more than 800,000 e-books and audiobooks borrowed in 2024 (6% of the total 13.4 million books borrowed during the Challenge period this summer). The Reading Agency is particularly excited about the potential of video games and interactive narratives as powerful reading engagement tools. These platforms offer immersive storytelling experiences that can hook reluctant readers and provide alternative pathways into reading.

Key issues will include:

• Bridging gaps in the reading ecosystem between schools, libraries, and families
• Supporting teachers’ ongoing professional development in reading pedagogy
• Increasing representation and accessibility in children’s literature
• Developing strategies to counteract declining reading enjoyment in primary schools

We must embrace a more holistic, technology-inclusive approach to reading. This means valuing children’s choices, creating enjoyable reading experiences, and recognising that reading isn’t confined to traditional print books. By understanding and adapting to how children actually engage with stories, we can reignite their passion for reading.

Karen Napier MBE is CEO, The Reading Agency

Teresa Cremin

Looking forwards into 2025, I think we’ll see the continued rise of the graphic novel and gradually more verse novels too. The former speaks for itself – graphic novels are zeitgeist- indeed nearly all the 70 plus teachers on The Open University’s Reading Schools Programme this year have reported renewed keenness on the part of the young readers when contemporary graphic novels were added to school collections. However, there is still much work to do to widen staff acceptance and understanding of this genre, it is still too often dismissed as lesser literature – ‘undemanding’, and ‘merely funny’ as I’ve heard it described!

As for verse novels, triggered by some simply stunning texts by Sarah Crossan, Jason Reynolds, Tia Fisher, Kwame Alexander, Manjeet Mann and Matt Goodfellow for example, many more educators are discussing these and enjoying their imaginative layouts and use of different media. The playful use of blank space and integration of illustrations, anagrams and different poetry techniques make these rich reads.  With the follow up to Matt Goodfellow‘s The Final Year coming out in April- expertly illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton and edited by Charlotte Hacking again –  The First Year will further extend enthusiasm for this genre. I’m imagining publishers are well ahead of this and new texts are in the pipeline, in particular I hope for primary children, they too deserve to be enticed and enthralled by brilliantly illustrated narrative verse. Now that would be a happy new year!

Professor Teresa Cremin is a Professor of Education (Literacy) and Co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre at The Open University in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies

Kirsty Sullivan

At Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration we’d like 2025 to be a year where young readers are given opportunities to encounter a broader range of authors and illustrators than we’ve seen in the past. Reports from Renaissance and National Literacy Trust suggest that fewer children are reading for pleasure and that young readers are looking for, but not finding, books which reflect their own experiences. Authors and illustrators, for their part, are frustrated by the rise in celebrity-written books with huge marketing campaigns behind them.

One way that parents, carers, schools and – yes – places like the Quentin Blake Centre can help develop a love of books and reading is to introduce them to a range of creators working from the point of view of their own lived experiences. Recent standout books for us include Chibundu Onuzu’s magical Mayowa and the Sea of Words which explores racist attitudes and the experiences of refugees, and Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin’s retelling of the Red Riding Hood story from the point of view of a neurodivergent protagonist, Gina Kaminski Saves The Wolf. Dapo Adeola’s Joyful Joyful brings no less than 40 Black illustrators and authors together in a celebration of Black voices. We’d love to see more books like these making it onto the favourites list in the 2025 reports.

In the meantime, we’re building the Centre’s new home in Islington, opening in 2026. The diverse industry pipeline begins at school so we’ll be working with a wide range of illustrators and illustrations through programmes for early years to lifelong learners, a permanent Quentin Blake gallery and changing temporary exhibitions.

Kirsty Sullivan, Head of Learning and Participation, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

Farrah Serroukh

On New Year’s Day, I had the pleasure of watching a toddler shuffling curiously through a deep puddle in the park, eyes flitting between their wellies and the water, revelling in the joy of discovery. Children’s literature invites the opportunity for readers of all ages to dwell in this joyful realm. It is a medium that allows writers to respond to the world, make sense of it and stretch the bounds of possibility. The stimulus of the world outside, gives an indication of what we’re likely to see on our bookshelves in 2025. Climate change, polarising politics, poverty, technological advances, globalisation and war and displacement have been consistent features of the backdrop of our lives in recent times.

 

This is likely to result in books that:

• grapple with these themeshead on as in the bold and unapologetic style of Armin Greder or the allegorical musings showcased in the work of Shaun Tan.
• provide adventure and escapeto fantastical and magical worlds as featured in Afro-futuristic titles like Tola Okogwu’s Onyeka
• subvert traditional narrativesto create new meanings, such as Marie Voigt’s Red and the City.
• challengeerasure by creating genre defying narratives that expand the realms of possibility on and beyond the page as explored in SF Said’s Tyger and J.T Williams Lizzie and Belle
• celebrate the importance of family and community as featured in the work of Atinuke, Chitra Soundar and Maisie Chan.
• centre children as agents of change, inspiring them to challenge power in fictional realms so that they might be empowered to lead the change in the real world, e.g. Varsha Shah’s Ajay and the Mumbai Sun.
• relish the playfulness of childhoodas we often see in the work of Anna McQuinn, Ken Wilson Max and Dapo Adeola.
• equip readers with an understanding of the past and how it shapes our presentlike the important works of Catherine Johnson, Sufiya Ahmed and Kandace Chimbiri.
• deepens our connections with the natural worldas championed by passionate advocates like the prolific Nicola Davies.
• develops curiosity about humanity, society, geopolitics and the digital agein titles like Chris Haughton’s epic publication The History of Information.

My hope for 2025 is that our bookshelves overflow with these types of books and more because our children’s imaginations deserve to be nourished with information, ideas and inspiration that keeps them curious and hopeful.

Farrah Serroukh is Research and Development Director, CLPE

SailFest

As highlighted in the keynote by Jasmine Richards at the Bookseller children’s conference and backed up by data by the Reflecting Realities report produced by CLPE, the UK publishing industry seemed to have forgotten its resolve to be more inclusive in its approach.  Add to this, the concerning Publishers’ Association workplace report highlighting the drop once again in Ethnic minority representation, specifically for British Asian staff, makes for a dire situation indeed. Not having representation across the entire publishing ecosystem will mean representation in the books published will remain tokenistic at best.

In our inaugural year, as the first South Asian children’s book festival, we had difficulty finding financial support. Though some publishers did generously donate and helped cover travel costs, we are now grappling with sourcing funds for the second year.

But we are not deterred by the headwinds. We are excited to continue to amplify the voices of South Asian authors and illustrators in 2025 in new ways. We are gearing up for our second SAIL festival full of hope and determination. Towards that, we hope publishers will help us reach bigger audiences for their South Asian books and their creators.

SAIL festival is a celebration of the best in South Asian children’s illustration and literature.

Marcus Satha

As our 2025 review effort gets underway, we’re sensing a welcome uptick in the number of children’s books featuring neurodivergent main characters created by neurodivergent authors and illustrators. We predict this to be a sign of good things to come this year!

What else do we hope to see in 2025? Our wishlist is ambitious! First and foremost, we’d love to see more books that babies and toddlers can truly relate to — both in terms of developmental appropriateness and genuine cultural diversity.

For primary school-aged children, we’re hoping for a wider range of light-hearted, fun, and highly illustrated inclusive fiction — stories that provide a much-needed escape from daily pressures and will help to inspire a love of reading for pleasure. In particular, we’re eager to see more inclusive, slim, illustrated chapter books for 5- to 8-year-olds, as well as an expanding selection of graphic novels featuring authentic representation.

Finally, we’d love to see more Own Voices talent published, bringing fresh perspectives and authentic stories to young readers.

Marcus Satha is a founder of Inclusive Books for Children

Authors, poets and writing organisations look to 2025

Poet Laura Mucha

Three things:

1. The number of children reading for pleasure is at a 19-year low, according to NLT research. I really hope this leads us to focus on: a) how to best support children in learning to read, b) the impact of smart phone usage (on reading, mental health and sleep), and c) adult reading for pleasure (we need to model the change we want to enact). Given that reading for just 6 minutes reduces stress by two thirds (more than listening to music, walking, video games or tea), isn’t this something we should all be doing…
2. People (especially those in power) are still in denial about climate change. What more could publishing be doing? Can we as an industry lead by example in both process and content (without piling it on kids to sort out when it’s our mess)?
3. AI can be brilliant in doing routine tasks or helping generate new ideas, but it also provides incredibly convincing false information and risks undermining the career viability of writers and illustrators. If we want children to think critically and read books written by humans (and research suggests we do), we need to move fast. Let’s do this!

Award-winning author Maisie Chan

I am excited for children’s publishing in 2025! Not only do I have a new novel out in the summer (details are still under wraps I’m afraid!), but I see more East and Southeast Asians children’s authors being published in the U.K. Even though it is still a small trickle; I hope the tide of exciting new voices flows in the right direction.

I’m especially excited to see Eric Huang and illustrator Phùng Nguyên Quang’s new series Guardians of the New Moon: Ming and Miaow’s Great Race. It is the first book in a series, with the second book coming out the same day. These action-packed titles will appeal to readers of the Tiger Warrior series.

And I am eager for people to meet Puffin; the main character in Lui Sit’s debut The Land of the Last Wildcat. Puffin’s voice is precocious and bold.  She is a brilliantly realised character. We follow her journey to save a mythical creature called the Kuri.

I predict we will see more graphic novels at every level and generally more illustrated fiction for children. I would like to see more illustrated Y.A. and adult novels too. I have heard on the grapevine that publishers are looking for shorter middle grade titles which is ironic as my new book is my longest so far!

Jasmine Richards

At the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2024 – the phrase on everyone’s lips was Hi-lo (books designed for readers with lower reading levels but who have high interest and emotional sophistication).

The feeling that we, as an industry, need to find ways to get children, all children, to fall in love with reading again felt urgent – almost existential.

What I hope to see in 2025 is a response to that urgency. I hope we see more books for readers that are highly-illustrated, or hybrid creations that blend graphic novel elements, dynamic layouts, non-fiction content and rich visuals to enhance engagement and comprehension.

I hope we see more verse books that are packed full of story but which leave lots of white space on the page allowing the reader in without being overwhelmed. Very excited for The First Year by Matt Goodfellow.

I hope we see slimmer books and books that have sticky concepts that can go up against screen and game. Two titles developed by Storymix – The Lucky House Detective Agency and Dead Yard do a good job of this I think.

I hope we see more fiction incorporating interactive elements like decision-making story paths or in-text puzzles.

I hope we continue to see the flourishing of the indie publisher, taking risks in the form and content of their books. This part of the market feels really exciting.

I don’t think in 2025 we will see an increase in published books written and illustrated by Black and brown creators, or books centring a protagonist of colour.

I am very keen to be wrong about this though…

Jasmine Richards is an author and founder of Storymix a multi-award fiction studio and micro-publisher. Their lead title Other Father Christmas will be published in Nov 2025.

Alom Shaha

I am writing this while a huge wildfire tears through California and a billionaire has tweeted to ask if anyone has ‘access to private firefighters’ for whom he ‘will pay any amount’. This pretty much epitomises what I think the ‘big issues’ will be for the year ahead, and indeed for quite some time beyond that: devastation and destruction caused by climate change, not just in the form of extreme weather events, but also in global conflicts and the worsening of inequalities everywhere, especially between the rich and the poor. Super-rich techbros will continue to have an undue, hugely negative influence on politics, while their social media and AI creations wreak further havoc on our notions of ‘truth’ and what constitutes ‘free speech’.

It feels like we already live in a dystopia so I suspect we’ll see lots more dystopian fiction, but it would be great to see children’s literature which put forward visions of a happier future for humans. I’d also like to see less fantasy fiction and more stories set in the real world which show us how to be better people and imagine worlds where ordinary people triumph over evil without the need for superpowers or magic.

Alom Shaha is an author and Jhalak Children’s and YA Prize 2025 Judge

Hiba Noor Khan

Whether woven into pirate perils on the high seas, historical fiction, future fiction, or our contemporary world, I’m hoping to see more stories that centre and honour resilience in 2025. Along with empathy and hope, resilience is among the greatest gifts that can be bestowed upon readers; we’re up against chaotic, unreliable, and dangerously polarising media, technology, and politics, to which humanising books are an antidote.

With the increasing uptake of AI, I want to see books that highlight and develop human critical thinking. In the context of human rights double standards and hypocrisies, I hope for plots and protagonists that nurture hearts for social justice – radical compassion and generosity of spirit as resistance to the cruelty of our wider world. We owe this to children.

I imagine we will see more meaningful diversity and representation, in a lasting way – stitched into the very fabric of literature rather than ebbing and flowing as a short-lived trend. Perhaps 2025 will manifest one of the first steps on this road.

We will continue to see important books that creatively address and feature climate issues, as well as those normalising mental health struggles. I’m excited to read more verse novels after some stellar recent releases and expect that graphic novels will continue to soar.

Hiba Noor Khan is an award-winning author and Jhalak Children’s and YA Prize 2024 2025 Judge