The HarperCollins Reading for Pleasure Awards 2026 are open now. Now in their 9th year, the awards are run in association with The Open University and UK Literacy Association (UKLA) and recognise and celebrate teachers, schools and educators that successfully promote and encourage children’s reading for pleasure, both within and beyond the school setting.

The categories in the awards are as follows:

• Early Career Teacher (0-3 years in teaching)

• Experienced Teacher (3 years plus)

• Whole School

• School Reading Champion (  e.g., Librarians/other educators) 

• Community Reading (immediate and/or wider community, from local area to local authority)

• The HarperCollins Author’s Choice Award is chosen by the guest judge as their personal favourite and will win a virtual visit from that author

This year’s judges are Joy Court, co-founder of All Around Reading, Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education at The Open University, Alison David, Consumer Insight Director at Farshore, Martin Galway, Head of School Programmes at National Literacy Trust, Lee Newman, Executive Publisher at Collins, Cally Poplak, Managing Director of HarperCollins Children’s Books and Farshore, David Reedy, reading expert and former President of the UK Literacy Association, and author and Authorfy founder Mel Taylor-Bessent.

Winners receive £250 worth of books of their choice, selected from HarperCollins Children’s Books, Farshore, Barrington Stoke and Collins and twenty copies of Help Your Child Love Reading by Alison David.

Professor Teresa Cremin says, ‘Research from around the world has shown the power and potential of reading for pleasure, demonstrating that choice-led reading in early years has a significant impact on well-being and academic performance. The Reading for Pleasure Awards celebrate the dedication, innovation, and creativity shown by educators in order to entice, engage and encourage young readers, within school and beyond.’

Nichola Rossall, Assistant Principal at past-winning Willow Primary School, says ‘Willow Primary School was incredibly proud to receive the Whole School Reading for Pleasure Award. This achievement recognizes the hard work we’ve put into building a vibrant reading culture over the last few years. We highly recommend that other schools apply for this award; it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on your success and share good practice with the wider educational community.’

The deadline for entries is midnight, Sunday 14^th June, using forms found via this link: https://collins.co.uk/blogs/the-book-squad-blog/reading-for-pleasure-awards-how-to-enter

The winners will be announced on Saturday 17 October at the Open University Conference in Milton Keynes.

More information about the awards and all the details on how to enter can be found here: https://collins.co.uk/pages/reading-for-pleasure-awards or https://ourfp.org/share-your-practice/