Little Rebels Award seeks funding

The Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction has been paused this year due to the need to source additional funding.

Award organiser, Fen Coles of Letterbox Library said, ‘Since its inception in 2013, the Little Rebels Award has grown immeasurably in stature. It is a testament to its success that the work it generates now exceeds the capacity of the small team who undertake running the award on top of their jobs running the not-for-profit cooperative booksellers, Letterbox Library and Housmans Bookshop.’

The Little Rebels Award celebrates children’s books for readers age Birth to 12 which promote social equality and social justice. The prize is run on behalf of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers. Last year, Sarah Hagger-Holt won the award with The Fights That Make Us . Since 2020, the award has received some funding from the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust which covers the prize money of £2k and a contribution towards the award night and shortlist marketing cost.

The award organisers are now seeking funding for a part time award administrator who will take on the larger share of the administrative and marketing tasks.

Catherine Barter of Housmans Bookshop said, ‘Pausing the award this year has been a really difficult decision. Like so many endeavours across the book world, the prize runs mostly on love and enthusiasm, and relies on a huge amount of unpaid work. As organisers we’ve temporarily reached a point where it’s unsustainable. But we hope that this pause will allow us to regroup and come back with a bang in 2027.’

The Little Rebels Award will continue to run its social media accounts (Bluesky + Instagram) throughout 2026 which will include highlighting radical, social justice-focused children’s titles published in 2025 which might otherwise have been amplified by a longlist.

Followers and fans of the award are invited to contact the award organisers via info@letterboxlibrary.com should they know of any parties interested in funding.