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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Lauren Del Fabbro

Child judges to decide new Booker Prize award

  • The Booker Prize Foundation is launching its first children's fiction award, the Children's Booker Prize, set to begin in 2026.
  • The annual prize will award £50,000 to the winner, who will be selected by a combined panel of child and adult judges.
  • The accolade aims to celebrate the best contemporary fiction for children aged eight to 12, promoting reading for pleasure and championing global children's literature.
  • As part of the initiative, 30,000 copies of the shortlisted and winning books will be gifted to engage and grow a new generation of readers.
  • Children's author Dame Jacqueline Wilson praised the new award, and Frank Cottrell-Boyce will serve as the inaugural chair of judges in 2027, with submissions opening in spring 2026.

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