The Booker Prize Foundation has announced the launch of the Children’s Booker Prize, its first major new award in 20 years. Supported by the AKO Foundation, the prize will celebrate the best in children’s fiction for readers aged 8-12, with the inaugural winner to be announced in February 2027.

The £50,000 prize will honor books written in or translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. Shortlisted authors will each receive £2,500. What sets this prize apart is its judging panel: three adult judges alongside three child judges, ensuring that young readers have a direct voice in selecting the winner. The shortlist will feature eight books, a departure from the traditional Booker Prize format.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the UK’s current Children’s Laureate, will chair the inaugural judging panel. The prize’s eligibility period for the first award runs from November 1, 2025, to October 31, 2026, with submissions opening in spring 2026.

Lauding the move, Joseph Coelho, Children’s Laureate 2022-2024, says: ‘I’m incredibly excited by the announcement of the Children’s Booker Prize. This is a brilliant way to invite children into the world of words through a celebration of books, authors and illustrators. I fully welcome a robust prize that celebrates children’s literature in a manner equal to that which adult literature receives and one that makes essential space for the voice of the child.’

Beyond recognition, the Children’s Booker Prize aims to put books directly into the hands of young readers. At least 30,000 copies of shortlisted and winning titles will be gifted to children, addressing concerns about declining reading rates among young people in the UK, reportedly at their lowest in 20 years.

The announcement, made on October 24, 2025, comes as the UK prepares for its National Year of Reading in 2026. At the launch event, novelist Penelope Lively, the only person to have won both the Booker Prize and the Carnegie Medal for children’s literature, delivered the keynote speech, underscoring the significance of literary excellence for young readers.

The Children’s Booker Prize represents a significant investment in the future of children’s literature, bringing the prestige and reach of the Booker name to stories that shape young minds and imaginations.