Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize was founded in 1967. It is awarded annually to fiction written for children aged eight and above, and is the only children's fiction award selected by fellow writers. The judging panel is chaired by our very own expert reviewer, Julia Eccleshare who is also the Children's Books Editor of the Guardian. You can find the winner and all 7 other titles on the 2016 short and longlist below.
Crongton Knights
Alex Wheatle
Shortlisted for YA Book Prize 2017 | Winner of the Guardian
Children's Fiction Prize 2016 Crongton Knights is a very
funny, very moving story that shows that although life is testing,
the lessons learned the hard way are the ones...
Featured in: 13+ readers
Format: Paperback | Released 03/03/2016
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The Bone Sparrow A Refugee Novel
Zana Fraillon
Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2016
| In a Nutshell: Refugees | Resilience | Friendship A
heartfelt, harrowing insight into life as a Rohingya refugee in an
Australian detention centre, told through the unforgettable voice
of an unforgettable...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 13+ readers
Format: Hardback | Released 14/07/2016
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The Marvels
Brian Selznick
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2017 |
Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2016 |
Shortlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award Filled with
mystery, vibrant characters, surprise twists, and heart-rending
beauty, and featuring Selznick's most arresting...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 13+ readers
Format: Hardback | Released 15/09/2015
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The Smell of Other People's Houses
Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017 | Shortlisted
for the UKLA 2017 Book Award | Longlisted for the Guardian
Children's Fiction Prize 2016 Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock's
extraordinary, stunning debut is both moving, and deeply authentic.
These intertwining stories of love,...
Featured in: YA readers | 13+ readers
Format: Paperback | Released 07/04/2016
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Hell and High Water
Tanya Landman
One of our Books of the Year 2016 | Shortlisted for the
UKLA 2017 Book Award | Longlisted for the Guardian Children's
Fiction Prize 2016 The astonishing story of a young man's
quest to find justice for his father, from...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 13+ readers
Format: Paperback | Released 05/05/2016
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Chasing the Stars
Malorie Blackman
Shortlisted for YA Book Prize 2017 | One of our Books of
the Year 2016 | Longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction
Prize 2016 | May 2016 Book of the Month An innovative,
ambitious page-turner in which the inimitable Malorie...
Featured in: YA readers
Format: Hardback | Released 21/04/2016
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Sweet Pizza
G. R. Gemin
Longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
2016 This is a heart-warming story about bringing a
diverse community together and the amazing history of Italian
immigrants in Wales. When Joe tasted a mouthful he was amazed how
delicious it was...
Featured in: 11+ readers
Format: Paperback | Released 02/06/2016
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Riverkeep
Martin Stewart
Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2017 | Shortlisted
for YA Book Prize 2017 | Longlisted for the Guardian Children's
Fiction Prize 2016 When Fifteen-year-old Wulliam's father
is possessed by a dark spirit, Wull hears that a cure for Pappa's
illness lurks...
Featured in: 11+ readers
Format: Paperback | Released 28/04/2016
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photo credit: James Drew Turner for the Guardian
David Almond, winner of last year's prize says of the Longlist: “This is a wonderful long list, evidence of the vigorous health of children’s literature today. Children’s books live at the heart of our culture. This list deserves to be read not only by young people, but by anyone who values good writing and powerful stories. Here are eight wonderful writers at the top of their form, creating books that entertain, provoke, inform, disturb, delight. Huge congratulations to every one of them.”
This year’s prize will be judged by author and winner of the 2015 prize, David Almond, and authors Kate Saunders (author of Five Children on the Western Front, which was shortlisted for the prize in 2015) and SF Said (author of Varjak Paw, The Outlaw Varjak Paw and Phoenix, which was shortlisted for the Guardian children’s fiction prize in 2014) and chaired by Guardian children’s books editor and Lovereading4kids editorial expert, Julia Eccleshare.
The Guardian children's fiction prize is shadowed by a Young Critics scheme in which children have their say on the longlisted books.
If you are aged 17 or under and love reading, there is a The Young Critics competition where you can submit your own review of one of the books in the longlist. The deadline has now passed but you can find more information here.
The Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2015 was A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond. On winning the prize David said, “It’s a real honour to win it at last,” said Almond after hearing of his victory. “It’s made very special by the fact that it’s judged by my fellow authors.”
Previous winners of the prize include Mark Haddon for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson, Frank Cottrell Boyce with The Unforgotten Coat and Piers Torday with The Dark Wild.
The winner will be announced on 17 November.
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