The Booker Prize has announced a new award, the Children’s Booker Prize, scheduled to launch in 2026 and celebrate its first winner in 2027. The new prize will recognise the best works of children’s fiction written for readers aged eight to twelve and is described as the most ambitious undertaking by the Booker organisers in two decades.
The new prize comes at a time when reading for pleasure among children has reportedly fallen to its lowest point in 20 years, according to the National Literacy Trust. With the National Year of Reading 2026 also on the horizon, the introduction of this award is expected to inspire young readers and reawaken a love of storytelling among the next generation.
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, described the launch as “the most ambitious endeavour we’ve embarked on in 20 years – and we hope its impact will resonate for decades to come.” She added that the prize aims to “champion future classics” and “inspire more young people to read.”
The Children’s Booker Prize will be the first major new award from the Booker Foundation since the creation of the International Booker Prize in 2005. It will celebrate both original works written in English and those translated into English, as long as they are published in the UK or Ireland between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026. The new prize will also ensure that children’s authors receive the same level of recognition as their adult counterparts—with the winning writer receiving £50,000, while each shortlisted author will receive £2,500.
To make the process more inclusive, the judging panel will combine both adults and children. For the inaugural 2027 award, UK Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce will serve as the chair of judges, joined by two other adult judges who will be announced in 2026. Once the shortlist of eight titles is selected, three children will be invited to join the panel to help choose the winning book.
Cottrell-Boyce, author of beloved children’s classics such as Millions and Framed, expressed his excitement over the appointment, saying: “I am absolutely buzzing about the news that I’m going to be chairing the judging panel. It’s going to be – as they say – absolute scenes in there. Let the yelling commence.”
The Booker Prize Foundation also confirmed that at least 30,000 copies of the shortlisted and winning books will be distributed to children across the UK and Ireland, ensuring that as many young readers as possible have access to the year’s most celebrated stories.
The founding partner and principal supporter of the Children’s Booker Prize is the AKO Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to improving education, supporting the arts, and combating climate emergencies. The AKO Foundation has committed to funding the prize for its first three years, alongside several philanthropic partners who have supported its development since 2022.
To mark the announcement, the Booker Foundation released a short film featuring children reading excerpts from previous Booker-winning novels. Celebrated author Penelope Lively, who has uniquely won both the Booker Prize (for Moon Tiger, 1987) and the Carnegie Medal (for The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, 1973), will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Booker Prize ceremony in November. Lively welcomed the new award, noting, “Those who write for children especially need this – and it is needed equally for the children who read the books.”
Other acclaimed authors also praised the announcement. Dame Jacqueline Wilson, creator of Tracy Beaker, called it “a marvellous idea”, while former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine commented, “When it comes to book prizes, we all say, ‘The more the merrier’—and especially when it comes to writing for children, which has all too often been the overlooked Cinderella of the book world.”
In keeping with the inclusive nature of the award, the Children’s Booker Prize will also recognise the vital work of translators and illustrators. If a translated book wins, the author and translator will share the £50,000 prize equally. Similarly, the author and illustrator will split the prize money if a graphic novel or a highly illustrated book emerges victorious.
Publishers will open the first submissions in spring 2026, revealing the shortlist and child judges in November 2026. The inaugural winner will then be announced in February 2027 at a special event dedicated to young readers.
For more than 55 years, the Booker Prize has celebrated and transformed literary careers around the world. With the introduction of the Children’s Booker Prize, the Foundation is taking another significant step—not only recognising excellence in children’s fiction but also cultivating a new generation of readers who may grow up to write the next Booker-winning story themselves.
