Indies dominate CLPE Poetry Awards shortlist

Independent publishers dominate the shortlist for this year’s Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Poetry Award (CLiPPA), which highlights the best contemporary poetry for children.

The prize is run by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), and is delivered in partnership with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), with support from Arts Council England. Past winners include Carol Ann Duffy, John Agard and Michael Rosen, as well as the current Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho.

Otter-Barry Books is represented twice in this year’s shortlist, which features Kate Wakeling’s A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop, illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon (Otter-Barry Books), and The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books). Books by The Emma Press and Troika Books are also in the running, with Julio Serrano Echeverria’s Balam and Lluvia’s House, illustrated by Yolanda Mosquera, and translated by Lawrence Schimel (The Emma Press), on the list, alongside Stephen Lightbown’s And I Climbed, And I Climbed, illustrated by Shih-Yu Lin (Troika Books).

“Each book on the shortlist is unique and offers something special: there are poems full of feeling, poems to make us laugh and dance, poems to help us see into the hearts and lives of others and feel changed,” said poet Liz Berry, who chaired the 2024 judging panel. “It’s wonderful to see poetry for children flourishing and to discover such diverse and inspiring voices at work.”

The shortlist was announced during an online event shown live in schools today, featuring readings by Goodfellow, Lightbown and Wakeling. Children will now choose their favourite poems from the collections to create their own poetry performances as part of the Shadowing Scheme, and a selection of these will be celebrated at the CLiPPA award ceremony at the National Theatre on Friday 12th July, with the winners announced by former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell.