Little Rebels Award Winner and judges, photo by Lily Slaymaker

J.T. Williams is the winner of the 2024 Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction for Portraits and Poison, the second book in her Lizzie & Belle junior detective series. The first in the series, Drama and Danger, was longlisted for the Little Rebels Award in 2023. Set against a backdrop of real-life British Black History, Portraits and Poison explores a history of Black British activism, introducing young readers to real life, Georgian-London, campaigners such as the Sons (& Daughters) of Africa. The novel also exposes the racist mechanisms at work in the conventions of Western portraiture.

Little Rebels Award Judge, Farrah Serroukh, described Portraits and Poison as, ‘A fantastic means of countering erasure across all spheres including artistic, fictional, historical and political; challenging misrepresentations whilst encased in a brilliantly crafted, engaging and accessible story.’ The organisers of the Little Rebels Award said, ‘We love how Portraits and Poison, with its themes of civil disobedience and rebellion, channels the spirit, energy and optimism of the Little Rebels Award.’

J.T. Williams was awarded £2k prize money, funded by the Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust, plus £250 through the Gill Lewis Award, a sum which will be donated by the winner to a charity of their choice, and a limited edition print by Ken Wilson Max, commissioned by and exclusive to the award.

The announcement was made at the Little Rebels Award Ceremony, held at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, on Wednesday October 16th. It followed a panel discussion on centring radical fiction for children, chaired by Dr. Darren Chetty and attended by 2024 shortlistees, Yaba Badoe; Jen Reid; Kate Rafiq; Harry Woodgate; JT Williams; James Catchpole & Karen George; Helen Rutter & Elisa Paganelli.

This is the 12th year of the Little Rebels Award. Given on behalf of the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB), the award is administered by ARB members, Housmans Bookshop and Letterbox Library, it recognises children’s books which explore political ideas, challenge the status quo, or promote social justice, social equality and a more peaceful and fairer world.  In 2023 the award was won by Patrice Lawrence for Needle (Barrington Stoke).

This year’s judges were author-illustrator (and former award shortlistee), Emily Haworth-Booth; reading development and children’s book consultant, Jake Hope; Research and Development Director at the Centre for Literature in Primary Education (CLPE), Farrah Serroukh; teacher and author, Alom Shaha; illustrator, designer & lecturer, Soofiya.

The other shortlisted books were:

Man-Man and The Tree Of Memories by Yaba Badoe and Joelle Avelino (Head of Zeus Books)

A Hero Like Me by Angela Joy, Jen Reid and Leire Salaberria (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)

We Are Here by Kate Rafiq (Dune Books)

Grandad’s Pride by Harry Woodgate (Andersen Press)

Is That Your Mama? By Patrice Lawrence and Diane Ewen (Scholastic)

You’re So Amazing! by James & Lucy Catchpole and Karen George (Faber & Faber)

The Piano At The Station by Helen Rutter with illustrations by Elisa Paganelli (Barrington Stoke)