Love On Sight wins the 2026 Branford Boase Award for debut writers

Asli Jensen and her editor Shalini Vallepur are the winners of the 2026 Branford Boase Award, given to the author and editor of the year's outstanding debut novel for young people, Love on Sight (Chicken House).

Love on Sight is a contemporary romance exploring the relationship between two young people living on a council estate in London. They are caught between cultures, dealing with the undertone of religious expectations and coping with demanding family responsibilities while trying to live their lives as they want.

Love on Sight has already been recognised in the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition with the Lime New Storyteller Award for the unpublished manuscript with the greatest potential for development into a TV series or screen adaptation. Editor Shalini Vallepur said the story offers a window into "complicated teen lives and the hopes and dreams of youth today".

Asli Jensen wrote a large portion of the book written while she was working in the youth justice system, with the young people she came to know there directly influencing her story. She said the novel "has been living in me for a long time", adding, "I've always wanted to write a love story that draws on real teen experiences and dives deep into issues that linger in my heart.

"This book is rooted in culture and complexity, and it’s there to shine a light on communities that don’t always get to see themselves at the centre of a love story. I am truly blessed to have both myself and my editor Shalini recognised for the hard work and love we poured into this book."

Margaret McDonald, winner of the 2025 Branford Boase Award for Glasgow Boys, was a judge this year and said she was "completely blown away" with the judges admiring the "authenticity of the voice and the language" and the way the story "examines dating in contemporary London" through the relationship between main characters Jalaal and Sabrina, a Somali Muslim boy and English Jamaican Christian girl. "The approach is insightful and nuanced, and brings so much tenderness and empathy to the novel alongside the myriad issues explored. It's truly a worthy winner."

Branford Boase Award

The Branford Boase Award commemorates prize-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase of Walker Books and is the only prize to recognize the vital role of the editor alongside that of author. As Branford Boase Award winners, Asli Jensen and Shalini Vallepur join a list that has shaped children's literature over the last quarter century. Winning and shortlisted authors include Frances Hardinge, Meg Rosoff, Patrick Ness, Maisie Chan and Nathanael Lessore, and winning editors include David Fickling, Fiona Kennedy, Barry Cunningham, and Bella Pearson.

Julia Eccleshare, chair of the judges and co-founder of the Branford Boase Award, added, "Not for the first time a contemporary story of Britain’s multi-cultural young community has won the award, and we are delighted to highlight and celebrate these vital new stories."

The 2026 winners of the Branford Boase Award were announced by Margaret McDonald on Wednesday 8 July at a ceremony at CLPE, Webber Street, London SE1 8QW. Asli Jensen receives a cheque for £1,000 and she and Shalini Vallepur receive engraved trophies.   #BranfordBoaseAward #BBA26 www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk

The seven books shortlisted for the 2026 Branford Boase Award were:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Augmented by Kenechi Udogu, edited by Natasha Brown and Jenny Glencross (Faber)

The Branford Boase Award is delivered in partnership with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and supported by Walker Books.