Beth Lincoln, Ayaan Mohamud and Matt Goodfellow tussle for 2024 Branford Boase Award

Beth Lincoln, Ayaan Mohamud and Matt Goodfellow are among those shortlisted for the 2024 Branford Boase Award worth £1,000.

Organisers said judges were “inspired by stories with authentic voices and real life settings” as the prize for editors and debut writers celebrates its 25th anniversary.

The award is presented annually to an outstanding children’s or Young Adult novel by a first-time writer.

Lincoln’s mystery adventure, The Swifts (Puffin), has already netted a Nero Book Award while two of the other shortlisted authors – Hiba Noor Khan and Nathanael Lessore – are also in contention for the CILIP Carnegie Medal for Writing and Goodfellow is also shortlisted for the Children’s Book Award.

Organisers said: “From an exceptionally strong longlist of 25 books, the judges have chosen six to shortlist. These include a much-praised verse novel; a will-they-wont-they romance, starring a character living with a disability; two very different stories both with courageous young Muslim women at their heart; and the comic travails of a wannabe rapper in south-east London. Beth Lincoln’s Nero Book Prize-winning gender-playful murder mystery The Swifts also makes the list.” 

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education in London on 10th July 2024. The winning author receives a cheque for £1,000 and both author and editor receive an inscribed plaque.

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is open now. 

This year’s judges are Christine Pillainayagam, author and winner of the 2023 Branford Boase Award; Emily Drabble, head of children’s books promotion and prizes at BookTrust; Lucas Maxwell, former librarian; and reading expert Amy McKay. The judging panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, director, Hay Children’s Festival.

Eccleshare said: “As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Branford Boase Award, we are particularly excited to announce this shortlist. We have seen huge changes in the number of books submitted for the award, but more importantly in the range of stories being written. The development of own voice narratives is particularly exciting. The shortlisted authors are extremely talented, and there’s an authenticity and freshness to their books that we found exhilarating.” 

The six shortlisted books are: 

• The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, edited by Charlotte Hacking (Otter-Barry Books) 
• The First Move by Jenny Ireland, edited by Ruth Knowles with Sara Jafari (Penguin) 
• Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan, edited by Eloise Wilson (Andersen Press) 
• Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore, edited by Ella Whiddett and Ruth Bennett (Hot Key Books) 
• The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell, edited by Ben Horslen and Julie Strauss-Gabel (Puffin) 
• You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)