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YA Book Prize 2023

Danielle Jawndo scoops the YA Book Prize 2023 for When Our Worlds Collided, her nuanced portrayal of three very different teenagers impacted by everyday racism. 

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Winner and Shortlisted Books

YA Book Prize 2023: Winner and Shortlisted Books

Winner: When Our Worlds Collided

Following her highly acclaimed debut novel, And The Stars Were Burning Brightly, we have another powerful story depicting an authentic story of young lives impacted upon by the institutional and everyday racism experienced here in the UK; which makes it an even more important and challenging read. Narrated by ...

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Shortlisted Books

Twin Crowns

Katherine Webber and 1 more

Paperback

In Stock

£8.09 £8.99

Five Survive

Holly Jackson

Hardback

In Stock

£13.49 £14.99

The Cats We Meet Along the Way

Nadia Mikail

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

Her Dark Wings

Melinda Salisbury

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

If You Still Recognise Me

Cynthia So

Paperback

In Stock

£8.09 £8.99

Kemosha of the Caribbean

Alex Wheatle

Paperback

In Stock

£7.19 £7.99

Danielle Jawndo has won the YA Book Prize 2023 with her powerful novel, When Our Worlds Collided, depicting an authentic story of young lives impacted upon by the institutional and everyday racism experienced in the UK.

Danielle received her award, including prize money of £2000, at a ceremony at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) on 24th August, chaired by SF Said.

Rachel Fox, the children's and schools programme director at the EIBF, and a member of the judging panel said; "[It] completely blew me away and I am so pleased to see it crowned as the YA Book Prize winner for 2023. While the plot deals with extremely pertinent issues including racial injustice, prejudice around class and dealing with trauma, the novel is also a wonderful celebration of friendship, found family and community. I can’t wait for more readers to meet Chantelle, Jackson and Marc, and enjoy this accomplished novel as much as all of us judges.”

The panel was chaired by Caroline Carpenter, The Bookseller’s children’s editor and deputy features editor, who commented: “As YA is propelled into the limelight again thanks to BookTok and the success of recent screen adaptations, it’s inspiring to see that some of the best work in this category is originating from the UK and Ireland. This year’s brilliant, varied shortlist is testament to that, and I could not be happier with the judges’ top choice. Though this is only Danielle Jawando’s second novel, she has already proven herself to be a powerful author of deeply affecting and authentic stories and a rising star of YA.”

Read our full review of When Our Worlds Collided, and download the first chapter of the book, here.

The YA Book Prize, launched in 2014, recognises the best YA literature from the UK and Ireland according to a panel drawn from experts and young readers.

About YA Book Prize

The YA Book Prize is the first prize in the UK and Ireland to specifically focus on fiction for young adults and addresses an important need for a prize in the growing YA and teen market. The prize celebrates great books for teenagers and young adults and aims to get more teens reading and buying books.

The prize is organised by book trade magazine The Bookseller and it is run in partnership with Hay Festival. The shortlist is selected by a team at The Bookseller and the winner is selected by a panel of expert and teenage judges, who are asked to pick the book they believe is the best-written and that they would be most likely to share with young adults.

The winner will receive a £2,000 prize and feature on the YA programme at the Hay Festival.

Previous winners include Louise O'Neill's Only Ever Yours, Sarah Crossan's One and Sara Barnard's Goodbye, Perfect. The most recent 2020 YA Book Prize winner was Meat Market by Juno Dawson, a “gritty and compelling” exposé of the fashion industry. 

Follow at @yabookprize

YA Book Prize Archive

Click on a year below to view past years from this award.