Branford Boase Award shortlist features 'refreshingly different' stories

A range of "refreshingly different" stories are featured on the 2025 Branford Boase Award shortlist, given annually to an author and editor of an outstanding children’s debut novel.

The prize was founded in 2000 to commemorate author Henrietta Branford and Walker Books editor Wendy Boase, highlighting the important role editors play in nurturing new talent.

Ash Bond’s Middle Grade adventure story, Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm, edited by Ruth Bennett (Piccadilly Press), is featured on this year’s shortlist, alongside The Boy in the Suit by James Fox, edited by Lauren Fortune (Scholastic): a book for young readers that deals with serious issues such as mental health and poverty.

Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s Wild East (Penguin Random House) is also shortlisted this year. "Powerful and memorable", the book, edited by Katie Sinfield, is a novel in verse and written as a monthly diary. Also on the list is Amie Jordan’s All the Hidden Monsters, edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House), which is described by the judges as "a page-turner with appeal for all". 

Author Margaret McDonald and editor Alice Swan and assistant editor Ama Badu are also vying for the prize with the coming-of-age novel, Glasgow Boys (Faber), alongside author Ashley Thorpe and editor Sarah Stewart, shortlisted for The Boy to Beat the Gods (Usborne).

"On another strong shortlist, we are delighted to highlight these refreshingly different voices and stories," said Julia Eccleshare, co-founder of the Branford Boase Award, chair of the judges and children’s director of the Hay Festival. "The 2025 Branford Boase Award shortlist proves that there is nothing children’s authors can’t write about and the breadth and variety of these outstanding books are a hallmark of the healthy state of writing and publishing for children in the UK."

However, Eccleshare criticised the length of some of the books submitted for the prize and the impact this could have on reading for pleasure. "Publishers are overestimating the amount of time children are prepared to spend reading. When you’ve said what you want to say, stop!"

Nathanael Lessore, recently named winner Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, won the 2024 Branford Boase Award with Steady for This (Hot Key Books).