1st April 2019
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I get my book recommendations from many different sources - Toppsta reviewers, friends of my children, parents, teachers (particularly on Twitter), librarians and more but I'm always intrigued to see which children's books win awards (and who judges them too). Here's a list of the key children's book awards in the UK with links to shortlists and winners.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded annually by CILIP for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded annually by CILIP for a book with exceptional illustrations.
Books are nominated by CILIP members plus external bodies such as Booktrust, CLPE, National Literacy Trust and more. After nominations are published, each book is read by every member of the judging panel − 14 children's and youth librarians representing all regions of CILIP's Youth Libraries Group. From these nominations the judging panel will decide the long and shortlists and finally, the 2019 Medal winners, based on the official medals criteria. This year, for the first time, there will also be a children's choice prize.
2018 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal Winners
The winner of the 2018 CILIP Carnegie Medal was Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughlrean
The winner of the 2018 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was Town is By the Sea by by Sydney Smithand Joanne Schwartz.
2019 Medals Key Dates
5th November 2018 - Nominations published.
19 March 2019 - Cilip Carnegie and Kate Greenaway 2019 Shortlist Announced
17 June 2019 - Winners announced
The winner of the 2019 CILIP Carnedie Medal was The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
The winner of the 2019 Kate Greenaway Medal was The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane
This is the only national award voted solely by children. Members of the Federation of Children's Book Groups vote on the longlist and then any children can vote on the shortlist. There are three categories: Books for Younger Children, Books for Younger Readers and Books for Older Readers. FCBG Website.
2018 FCBG Children's Book Award Winners
The winner of the 2018 Book for Younger Children was I Dare You by Reece Wykes
The winner of the 2018 Book for Younger Readers was The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
The winner of the 2018 Book for Older Readers was I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson
2019 FCBG Children's Book Award Key Dates
25th February 2019 - Shortlist Announced
June 2019 - Winners Announced
The 2019 overall winner and the winner of the 2019 Book for Younger Children was Mixed by Arree Chung
The winner of the 2019 Book for Younger Readers was The Dog Who Lost His Bark by Eoin Colfer
The winner of the 2019 Book for Older Readers was Armistice Runner by Tom Palmer
An annual award to recognise the enjoyment of reading judged by a panel of expert across the industry. Costa Book Awards Website.
2018 Costa Book Awards Winner
The winner of the 2018 Costa Children's Book Award was announced in January 2019 and was The Skylark's War by Hilary McKay
2019 Costa Book Awards Key Dates
November 2019 - Category Shortlists Announced
January 2020 - Category Winners Announced
January 2020 - Overall Winner Announced
The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award, voted for by Waterstones booksellers and divided into three categories: Illustrated Books, Younger Fiction and Older Fiction. The Waterstones Children's Book Prize Website.
2018 Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winners
The winner of the 2018 Illustrated award was The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton
The winner of the 2018 Younger Fiction award was Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
The winner of the 2018 Older Fiction award and the Overall Winner was The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
2019 Waterstones Children's Book Prize Key Dates
7th February 2019 - Shortlist Announced
21st March 2019 - Winners announced
The winner of the 2019 Waterstones Children's Illustrated Award was The Girls by Lauren Ace and Jenny Løvlie.
The winner of the 2019 Waterstones Children's Younger Fiction and the Overall Waterstones Children's Book Award was The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
The winner of the 2019 Waterstones Children's Older Fiction Award was The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The Blue Peter Awards are an annual celebration of the best authors, the most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children. The 2019 Blue Peter Awards judges Louise Pentland, Alex T Smith and Darren Chetty, chose the shortlist and then children read the titles and vote for their favourites.
2018 Blue Peter Awards Winners
The winner of the 2018 Blue Peter Best Story was Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
The winner of the 2018 Blue Peter Best Book with Facts was Real Life Mysteries by Susan Martineau
2019 Blue Peter Awards Key Dates
25th October 2018 - Longlist announced
8th November 2018 - Shortlist announced
7th March 2019 - Winners announced
The winner of the 2019 Blue Peter Best Story award was The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf
The winner of the 2019 Blue Peter Best Book with Facts award was The Colours of History by Clive Gifford and Marc-Etienne Peintre.
An annual award for an outstanding first novel to a first time writer of a book for young people. Judged by a team of industry experts.
2018 Branford Boase Winner
The winner of the 2018 Branford Boase award was Kick by Mitch Johnson
2019 Branford Boase Key Dates
31st January 2019 - Longlist Announced
1st May 2019 - Shortlist Announced
3rd July 2019 - Winner Announced
The winner of the 2019 Branford Boase award was I am Thunder by Muhammad Khan
Three separate awards determined by age group, created to celebrate the very funniest and most engaging books in children’s fiction. Panel of experts vote on the Longlist and then children can vote on the shortlist.
2018 Lollies Winners
Announced on 14th February 2019.
Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book: Mr Bunny's Chocolate Factory by Elys Dolan
Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 6-8s was, The Big, Fat, Totally Bonkers Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp.
Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13s category was Tom Gates: Epic Adventure by Liz Pichon.
2019 Lollies Key Dates
August 2019 - Shortlist Announced
December 2019 - Vote Closes
Early 2020 - Winners Announced
Now in its sixth year, the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards (run with Booktrust) aims to celebrate some of the best titles in children's publishing. Winners are chosen by a panel of experts.
2018 Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards Winners
Overall Winner: 100 Dogs by Michael Whaite
Baby & Toddler: Norman's New Shell by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
Picture Book: 100 Dogs by Michael Whaite
Fiction: The Nothing to See Here Hotel by Steven Butler, illustrated by Steven Lenton
Learning & Development: The Book of Comparisons from Clive Gifford and Paul Boston
Favourite Characters: Peppa's Magical Unicorn
Children's Classic Award: The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
2019 Sainsbury's Childrens Book Awards Key Dates
9th August 2019 - Shortlist Announced
28th August 2019 - Winners Announced
Now in their 10th year these awards set out to increase teachers knowledge of newly published books which they can share with pupils. These are the only awards judged entirely by teachers.
2018 UKLA Book Award Winners
3-6 Category: Colin and Lea, Carrot and Pea by Morag Hood.
7-11 Category: Joint Winners Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird and Lesser Spotted Animals by Martin Brown
12-16 Category: We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan
2019 UKLA Key Dates
September 2018 - Longlist Announced
March 2019 - Shortlist Announced
July 2019 - Winners Announced
The winner of the 2019 award for the 3-6 category was I am Bat by Morag Hood.
After the Fall by Dan Santat was highly commended in the 3-6 category.
The winner of the 2019 award for the 7-11 category was The Explorer by Katherine Rundell.
Running on Empty by S.E. Durrant was highly commended in the 7-11 category.
The winner of the 2019 award for the 12-16 category was Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevado was highly commended in the 12-16 category.
Annual award to the best young adult book written by an author living in the UK or Ireland. Judged by a panel of industry experts.
2018 YA Book Prize Winner
The winner of the 2018 YA Book Prize was After the Fire by Will Hill
2019 YA Book Prize Key Dates
1st March 2019 - Shortlist Announced
30th May 2019 - Winner Announced
The winner of the 2019 YA Book Prize was Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Bernard
The British Book Awards (aka The Nibbies) is the most important awards for the trade and has been running since 1990. Alongside traditional categories such as fiction and non-fiction there are also awards for best bookshop, best publisher and more. In recognition of the growing importance of Children's, this year (2019) the Children's Book of the Year prize has been split into two for Fiction and Non-Fiction/Illustrated. AND yours truly (Georgina) is on the panel for the Children's Fiction Award.
2018 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year Winner
There were joint winners of the 2018 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year - The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris + The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
2019 British Book Awards Key Dates (Children's Book of the Year)
13th May 2019 - Winner Announced
The winner of the British Book Awards Children' Book of the Year was The Ice Monster by David Walliams.
