2026 Branford Boase Award longlist announced

The longlist for the 2026 Branford Boase Award has been announced. As well as recognising new writers for children and young people, the Branford Boase Award honours the editor of the winning book, highlighting the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.

This year a record number of books were submitted: 67 books from more than a dozen different publishers and 24 books have made the longlist.

The shortlist for the Award will be announced on Thursday 23 April 2026. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 at an award ceremony at CLPE in London.

Established in 2000, the Branford Boase Award identifies talented authors for young people at the start of their career. Past winners and shortlisted authors have included Frank Cottrell-Boyce, M.G. Leonard, Frances Hardinge, Meg Rosoff and Jenny Downham. Recent winners are Maisie Chan (2022), Christine Pillainayagam (2023), Nathanael Lessore (2024) and Margaret McDonald (2025). Previous winning editors on this year's longlist include Fiona Kennedy, Ruth Bennett and Ella Whiddett, and Bella Pearson. 

The Branford Boase Award also spotlights current trends in writing for children and young people. This year's varied longlist features original new fantasy adventure stories such as Inkbound by Philippa Leathley, edited by Natalie Doherty (HarperCollins Children's Books); romantasy in Ova Ceren's The Book of Heartbreak, edited by 2023's winning editors Ruth Bennett and Ella Whiddett (Hot Key Books); and thoughtful contemporary stories including The Doughnut Club by Kristina Rahim, edited by Zoë Griffiths (Nosy Crow) alongside stories examining cultural identity, such as Odd Girl Out by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, edited by Rosie Fickling (David Fickling Books).

www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk / #BBA2026 #BranfordBoaseAward 

The 2026 Branford Boase Award longlist in full:

Odd Girl Out by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, edited by Rosie Fickling (David Fickling Books)

Letty and the Mystery of the Golden Thread by Penny Boxall, edited by Katie Sinfield (Puffin)

Shadow Thieves by Peter Burns, edited by Lucy Courtenay (Farshore)

The Book of Heartbreak by Ova Ceren, edited by Ruth Bennett and Ella Whiddett (Hot Key Books)

Tart by Becki Jayne Crossley, edited by Cathy Liney (Bloomsbury)

How to Roller Skate with One Leg by Ella Dove, illus by Jennifer Jamieson, edited by Anne Marie Ryan (Orchard Books)

The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni, edited by Asmaa Isse (Electric Monkey)

Grumpfort by Jamie Hammond, illus by the author, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)

The Girl Who Raced the World by Nat Harrison, edited by Ruth Bennett (Bonnier)

Evie and Maryam's Family Tree by Janeen Hayat, edited by Bella Pearson (Guppy Books)

The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood by Farhana Islam, illus by Simran Diamond Singh, edited by Asmaa Isse (Farshore)

Love on Sight by Asli Jensen, edited by Shalini Vallepur (Chicken House)

Inkbound by Philippa Leathley, edited by Natalie Doherty (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Gloam by Jack Mackay, edited by Katie Jenning (Rock the Boat)

A Beautiful Terrible Thing by Miranda Moore, edited by Meggie Degurney and Liz Cross (David Fickling Books)

Wildlands by Brogen Murphy, edited by Linas Alsenas (Puffin)

Rock Band Music and Misfits by Leah Osakwe, edited by Mattie Whitehead and Karelle Tobias (Little Tiger)

Marty Moose: First Class by Claire Powell, illus by the author, edited by Gráinne Clear (Walker Books)

The Doughnut Club by Kristina Rahim, edited by Zoë Griffiths (Nosy Crow)

The Girl with Gills by Becca Rogers, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Zephyr)

Run Away With Me by J.L. Simmonds, edited by Amina Parchment-Youssef (Penguin)

The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King by Harry Trevaldwyn, edited by Emma Jones and Charlie Castelletti

Augmented by Kenechi Udogu, edited by Natasha Brown (Faber)

My Dog by Olivia Wakefield, illus by David Litchfield, edited by Megan Reid (HarperCollins Children's Books)

This year's panel of judges will be led by Margaret McDonald, who together with her editors Alice Swan and Ama Badu, won the 2025 Branford Boase Award with Glasgow Boys. Joining her on the panel are children's book experts, Katherine Woodfine, author and reviewer for The Week Junior; Stephen Dilley, Head of English at Kendrick School, Reading; and Anjali Patel, Lead Advisory Teacher, CLPE. The judging panel will be chaired by Julia Eccleshare, children's book consultant, the Hay Festival.

The Branford Boase Award is delivered in partnership with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and supported by Walker Books. The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, will open on Monday 2 February 2026.

Set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author and editor of the year's outstanding debut novel for children.