Previous Finalists

Who's Doing The Judging

THE CHILDREN'S BOOK

For the children's books, we have chosen ten primary and secondary schools in the UK, mostly in London, to do the initial judging. The children, with the help of their teachers, will be assessing the books and deciding on the finalists in each category based simply on: which book(s) did they enjoy the most and why.

A smaller, select group of children then look at the chosen top books and pick the gold, silver and bronze winners for each category. They will assess the books according to:

• EDITING Is there a flow to the text or is it a scratched record? Is it full of tiny/gigantic errors?
• THEME Is the book current/interesting/original/exciting?
• STYLE Is it a page-turner? The beginning grips you and the end knocks you for six.
• COVER AND ILLUSTRATIONS Eye-catching? Age appropriate? Do they add to the book?

THE ADULT BOOKS

The adult books will be assessed by two Reading Groups, one in London where I work and one in Stockholm where I live. They will decide on the finalists and from these they will pick the gold, silver and bronze winners. The members of these groups will not be professional editors or 'BIG' in the publishing world, but they love to read and know a good book when they see it. They will be assessing the books in a similar way to the children but perhaps the judging will be a little more in depth.

DIARY

Books must be with us between the 1^st January, 2026 and the 31^st December, 2026.

Finalists will be notified on the 1st March, 2027. The gold, silver and bronze winners in each category will be notified one month later.

We will begin sending out the feedback in March after the finalists are announced. At the same time, we will send you a catchy quote plus we will post comments on Goodreads and Bookbub for you (Note - we will check with you first). It will take approx 5 months (March - July) to do this (the feedback is very comprehensive approx. 500 - 1200 words) so don't rush us; we will get to you.

STOP PRESS

Any physical books sent to us will be donated to the judging schools or to a library.