Book Awards in 2026

Local and national book awards are great way to dive into the best new books.

Some awards provide resources and activities for the books and other opportunities for schools.

January
Spark! School Book Awards	Spark! Book Awards
Inclusive Books for Children Awards	IBC Awards 2026 | IBC
February
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
March
FCBG Children’s Book Award	CBA Home – The Federation of Children’s Book Groups
British Book Awards (Nibbies)	The Bookseller – The British Book Awards – The British Book Awards aka ‘The Nibbies’
The Carnegies (illustration and fiction)	The Carnegies
UKLA Book Awards	ukla.org/ukla-book-awards/
April
English 4-11 Picture Book Awards	Children’s Picture Book Awards | The English Association
Oscar’s Book Prize (picture books)	Oscar’s Book Prize
The CLiPPA (CLPE Poetry Award)	https://clpe.org.uk/poetry/CLiPPA
The Branford Boase Award	The Branford Boase Award and The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition
The Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize	The Children’s & YA Prize | Jhalak Prize
May
Indie Book Awards	Booksellers Association – Independent Bookshop Week and Indie Book Awards
Young Quills Award	Young Quills / Primary / Historical Association
The Klaus Flugge Prize	The Klaus Flugge Prize | Official Website – Award For Picture Book Illustration
Alligators Mouth Award	The Alligator’s Mouth Award for Illustrated Early Fiction
June
The Week Junior Book Awards
Lollies	The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2026 – Scholastic Shop
YA Book Prize	The Bookseller – The YA Book Prize 2026 Awards Entry
SLA Information Book Award	Information Book Award
July
Little Rebels Children’s Book Award	The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award
September
The Diverse Book Awards	Diverse Books | The Diverse Book Awards
The Tower Hamlets Book Award	About the Tower Hamlets Book Award – Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services
November
The Young People’s Book Prize (Royal Society)	Young People’s Book Prize – Children’s Science Books | Royal Society
December
Nero Book Awards (adult and children’s)	HOME – Nero Book Awards
The Excelsior Award (comics and graphic novels)	Welcome to the Excelsior Award