The winner of the 2024 Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize is Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press).

The Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize was set up in 2020 to celebrate books for children, teens and young adults written by writers of colour in Britain and Ireland. It is a sister award to the Jhalak Prize, which was first awarded in 2017. This year’s Jhalak Prize winner was Yepoka Yeebo for Anansi’s Gold: The Man who Swindled the World (Bloomsbury).

Safiyyah’s War was chosen from a shortlist of six titles by a panel of judges that included authors Rashmi Sirdeshpande, J.P. Rose, and last year’s winner Danielle Jawando. Described as an “exquisitely written, hopeful, and necessary book”, Safiyyah’s War is based on a true story and shines a light on the courage of the community of the Grand Mosque who provided shelter and a safe escape route for their Jewish neighbours during the Nazi occupation of Paris.

Commenting on this year’s award winners, prize director Sunny Singh said: “While this year’s winners are very different in form, style, theme and content, they speak urgently and yet timelessly to a world in turmoil. Yepoka Yeebo’s Anansi’s Gold is an exhilarating journey through the life – and almost unbelievable adventures – of one of the world’s greatest conmen… Hiba Noor Khan’s Safiyyah’s War is an extraordinary story of courage, hope and humanity in the face of unspeakable horrors. These are books for the world we live in, and the one we must imagine, and build for the future – books to read now, pass on to the future, and treasure forever.”

For more children’s book awards, click here.