The shortlist has been announced for the prestigious Branford Boase Award, given annually to the author and editor of the year’s outstanding debut novel for children.

Founded in 2000 to commemorate prize-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, co-founder of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award consistently highlights the most talented new writers for children at the very start of their careers. In the last five years alone, winners and shortlisted authors include Maisie Chan, Struan Murray, Hiba Noor Khan, JP Rose, Matt Goodfellow, Elle McNicoll and Nathanael Lessore. Margaret McDonald won in 2025 with Glasgow Boys.

The Branford Boase Award also honours the editor of the winning book and highlights the importance of editors in nurturing new talent. It is the only award to do this.

This year, seven books are on the shortlist – a rom com, a horror story, thought-provoking contemporary stories for YA readers, a sci-fi thriller, and two rich, meaningful stories for pre-teen and early teen readers.

The shortlist is:

Tart by Becki Jayne Crossley, edited by Cathy Liney (Bloomsbury)

How to Roller Skate with One Leg by Ella Dove, illustrated by Jennifer Jamieson, edited by Anne Marie Ryan (Orchard Books)

Evie and Maryam’s Family Tree by Janeen Hayat, edited by Bella Pearson (Guppy Books)

Love on Sight by Asli Jensen, edited by Shalini Vallepur (Chicken House)

Gloam by Jack Mackay, edited by Katie Jennings (Rock the Boat)

The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King by Harry Trevaldwyn, edited by Emma Jones and Charlie Castelletti (First Ink)

Augmented by Kenechi Udogu, edited by Natasha Brown and Jenny Glencross (Faber)

This year’s judges are Margaret McDonald, who together with her editors Alice Swan and Ama Badu won the 2025 Branford Boase Award with Glasgow Boys; Katherine Woodfine, author and reviewer for The Week Junior; Stephen Dilley, Head of English at Kendrick School, Reading and part of the UKLA Book Awards team; and Anjali Patel Lead Advisory Teacher, CLPE. The judging panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children’s book consultant, the Hay Festival.

Julia Eccleshare says, ‘The Branford Boase Award is special in so many ways. You can only win it once; it is the only award to recognise the vital role of the editor in nurturing talented new writers; and it identifies the direction of contemporary writing and publishing for children and young people. This year’s shortlist features seven magnificent debuts. With varied themes and settings, and for readers aged from 8 to teenage, they are very different, yet each author achieves their intention. The variety and richness of theme and topic demonstrate the vibrancy and relevance of contemporary publishing for children and in the National Year of Reading, it feels more urgent than ever to highlight the new voices who will catch the attention and interest of today’s young readers. Congratulations to these seven authors and their editors.’

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) in central London on Wednesday 8 July 2026. The winning author receives a cheque for £1,000 and both author and editor receive an inscribed plaque.

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is open now.

The Branford Boase Award is supported by Walker Books and ALCS.