The Diverse Book Awards 2025 longlists announced

The Diverse Book Awards returns for its sixth year to highlight inclusive, empowering, and representative books published in the UK and Ireland. The award attracted over 250 submissions across four categories - Picture Books, Children's, YA and Adult Fiction - marking a record-breaking celebration of diverse storytelling.

Co-founded by author Abiola Bello and publicist Helen Lewis, The Diverse Book Awards shine a spotlight on the best new inclusive books for bookshops, libraries, classrooms, book clubs and homes. The awards, sponsored by Akan Books, champion authors and illustrators whose work represents the richness and complexity of real lives and real communities.

Here are The Diverse Book Awards 2025 longlists for each category:

The Diverse Book Awards Picture Book Category 

A Fairy Called Fred by Robert Tregoning, illustrated by Stef Murphy (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Aqua Boy by Ken Wilson-Max (Otter-Barry Books)
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin)
Grandma's Locs by Karen Arthur, illustrated by Camilla Ru (Tate Publishing)
Mama Car by Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Faber)
Me and My Hair by Kimberley Kinloch, illustrated by Jessica Gibson (Usborne Publishing)
My Name is a Gift by Zeshan Akhter, Åsa Gilland (Templar Books)
Olu's Teacher: A Story About Starting Nursery by Jamel C. Campbell, illustrated by Lydia Mba (Walker Books)
Pearl and her Bunch by Momoko Abe (Orchard Books)
Priya Mistry and the Paw Prints Puzzle by Babita Sharma, illustrated by Ali Pye (Orchard Books)
Strong Like Me by Kelechi Okafor, illustrated by Michaela Dias-Hayes (Puffin)
The Boy Who Loves to Lick the Wind by Fiona Carswell, illustrated by Yu Rong (Otter-Barry Books)
The Language of Flowers by Shyala Smith, illustrated by Aaron Asis (Lantana Publishing)
Until You Find the Sun by Maryam Hassan, illustrated by Anna Wilson (Hodder Children's Books)

The Diverse Book Awards Children's Fiction Category 

Alyssa and the Spell Garden by Alexandra Sheppard (Faber)
Birdie by J. P. Rose (Andersen Press)
Bobby Bains Plays a Binder by Bali Rai, illustrated by Daniel Duncan (Barrington Stoke)
Bringing Back Kay-Kay by Dev Kothari (Walker Books)
Mayowa and the Sea of Words by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
The Boy Who Fell from the Sky by Benjamin Dean (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
The Cheat Book (Vol. 1) by RAMZEE (Hodder Children's Books)
The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt (Usborne)
The Nine Night Mystery by Sharna Jackson (Puffin)
The Super Sunny Murder Club Edited by Robin Stevens and Serena Patel. Written by Abiola Bello, Annabelle Sami, Benjamin Dean, Dominique Valente, Elle McNicoll, E.L. Norry, Maisie Chan, Roopa Farooki, Nizrana Farook, Patrice Lawrence, Robin Stevens, Serena Patel, Sharna Jackson. Illustrated by Harry Woodgate (Farshore)
The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief by Claire Linney (Self-published)
We are Family: Six Kids and a Super-Dad! by Oliver Sykes, illustrated by Ian Morris (Otter-Barry Books)
When I Feel Red by Lily Bailey (Orion Children's Books)

The Diverse Book Awards YA Fiction Category 

Damien Ike and the Fallen House of Draven by Dee Benson and David Arlo (Hot Key Books)
Dancers of the Dawn by Zulekhá A. Afzal (Rock the Boat)
Desi Girl Speaking by A. S. Hussain (Hot Key Books)
I Never Shall Fall in Love by Hari Conner (Simon & Schuster)
If My Words Had Wings by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)
King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books)
Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll (First Ink)
The Big Ask by Simon James Green (Barrington Stoke)
The Boy Next Door by Jenny Ireland (Penguin Random House Children's)
The Thread That Connects Us by Ayaan Mohamud (Usborne)
The Love Interest by Helen Comerford (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Usborne)
Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence (Penguin Random House Children's)

The Diverse Book Awards Adult Fiction Category

Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli (Magpie)
Alter Ego by Helen Heckety (Renegade Books)
Godzilla and the Songbird by Manzu Islam (Peepal Tree Press)
Ground by Jadelin Gangbo (Jacaranda)
Lost Love Songs by Ingrid Persaud (Faber)
Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain (Unbound)
Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands (Phoenix)
Rinsing Mũkami's Soul by Njambi McGrath (Jacaranda)
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron (Piatkus)
The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams (Faber)
The Thirty Before Thirty List by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid (Zaffre)
The Witness by Alexandra Wilson (Sphere)
Vengeance by Saima Mir (Point Blank, Oneworld)
Yorùbá Boy Running by Biyi Bándélé (Hamish Hamilton)