The Booker Prize Foundation is adding the Children's Booker Prize, which will celebrate the best contemporary fiction for children ages eight to 12 years old, written in or translated into English and published in the U.K. and/or Ireland. Launching in 2026 and to be presented annually beginning in 2027, the £50,000 (about $66,585) award aims "to engage and grow a new generation of readers by recognizing and championing the best children's fiction from writers around the world." It joins a lineup that includes the prestigious Booker Prize and International Booker Prize.
The winner will be selected by a combined panel of child and adult judges, with the U.K.'s Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce serving as inaugural chair of judges for 2027. At least 30,000 copies of the shortlisted and winning books will be donated to ensure more children can own and read the world's best fiction. Author Penelope Lively will give the keynote speech at the Booker Prize 2025 ceremony to celebrate the new prize.
"The Children's Booker Prize is the most ambitious endeavor we've embarked on in 20 years--and we hope its impact will resonate for decades to come," said Gaby Wood, CEO of the Booker Prize Foundation. "It aims to be several things at once: an award that will champion future classics written for children; a social intervention designed to inspire more young people to read; and a seed from which we hope future generations of lifelong readers will grow.... We have been laying the groundwork for this prize for the past three years, and in that time we have been buoyed by many fruitful conversations with prospective partners."
Philip Lawford, CEO of AKO Foundation, which is the founding partner and principal funder of the Children's Booker Prize, commented: "We are very pleased to support the Booker Prize Foundation in launching the Children's Booker Prize. At AKO Foundation we believe strongly in the importance of nurturing a love of reading from an early age. The evidence linking reading for pleasure to improved educational outcomes and greater social mobility is compelling, and this initiative aligns closely with our priorities as a funder. We are proud to contribute to a project that will inspire and empower young readers."
Cottrell-Boyce and two other adult judges will select a shortlist of eight books. Three child judges will be recruited--with the support of schools and a range of partners across the culture and entertainment industries--to join the adults in choosing the winning book.
"Stories belong to everyone," Cottrell-Boyce said. "Every child deserves the chance to experience the happiness that diving into a great book can bring. The Children's Booker Prize will make it easier for children to find the best that current fiction can offer. To find the book that speaks to them. By inviting them to the judging table and by gifting copies of the nominated books it will bring thousands more children into the wonderful world of reading. 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 inaugural prize will open for submissions from publishers in spring 2026, when the remaining two adult judges will be made public. The eight-book shortlist, with each author receiving £2,500 (about $3,330) and the three child judges will be named in late November 2026, with the winner announced at an event for young readers in February 2027. The eligibility period for the 2027 prize is November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026.
Fleur Sinclair, president of the Booksellers Association for the U.K. & Ireland and owner of Sevenoaks Bookshop, said: "I'm 100% here for anything that shines a light on the joy, wonder and delight of children's books! We all have nostalgic favourites from our own childhoods, but I'm especially delighted to have a brilliant new platform for children's authors writing right now, and their newly published books. The Booker Prize has a long legacy of championing noteworthy books for adult readers, so I'm excited to see whole families, the older members and soon the young as well, coming together to read and celebrate great new books uplifted by the Booker Prize spotlight."