National Non-Fiction November

From Federation of Children's Book Groups

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3

Region(s): All of UK

National Non-Fiction November was set up by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups to highlight the importance of information books and to promote reading non-fiction for pleasure. Each year, National Non-Fiction November has a different theme. Details of the theme for 2026 to be announced.

The FCBG provides a number of resources to support National Non-Fiction November. These include

An activity pack and booklist to tie in with this year’s theme.
A competition.
Ideas and activities to help schools and libraries explore the variety of non-fiction texts and encourage young people to write their own non-fiction book.

Cost: Free

About The Federation of Children’s Book Groups: The FCBG is an umbrella organisation that coordinates and supports the work of local Children’s Book Groups across the UK. As well as events for parents and children organised at a local level, the FCBG also organises the FCBG Children’s Book Award and other national events to help bring children and books together.

Further resources:

Download a non-fiction resource pack from the National Literacy Trust. The ready-to-use activity can be adapted for pupils of all ages and, as well as encouraging pupils to explore and read a range of non-fiction texts, supports information retrieval, discussion, and questioning skills.
Find out more about the impact of non-fiction on young people’s motivation to read and their engagement with the world around them in this report by the National Literacy Trust.
Andy Seed, best-selling author of the Interview with a… series, has some tips on how to use factual book to get young people reading.
Look out for the shortlist announcement of the Young People’s Book Prize later this month.
Other book awards that cover non-fiction include the SLA Information Book Award, UKLA Book Awards, The Week Junior Book Awards and the English 4-11 Picture Book Awards.
Good sources of recommendations for non-fiction books include CLPE’s CoreBooks (sign up for a free membership to access the filter) and Books for Topics.
LoveReading4Kids have also produced a list of 100 Great Non-Fiction Books for children of all ages.
Find non-fiction recommendations for young people by young people in this booklist from book review site Toppsta.
Consider adding an age-appropriate newspaper and/or a non-fiction magazine to the library to provide a wide range of reading material for your students. Choose from a selection here.
Don’t forget that non-fiction authors also do author visits and workshops. Authors Aloud and Authors Abroad both have non-fiction authors on their books and can help arrange a visit that fits your needs.