The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2024 were announced last week at a ceremony at Waterstones Piccadilly in London.

Celebrating their fifth year, The Diverse Book Awards were set up to celebrate the year’s outstanding inclusive books across four award categories:

• Best Picture Book
• Best Children’s Book
• Best Young Adult Book
• Best Adult Book

This year’s category winners were each chosen from a shortlist of nine titles by a panel of independent judges, but schools and members of the public also had a chance to have their say in the Readers’ Choice Awards.

Congratulations to all the winners!

The Diverse Book Awards  2024 – Best Picture Book

WINNER: To The Other Side by Erika Meza (Hodder Children’s Books)

2nd place: Not Now, Noor! by Farhana Islam, illustrated by Nabila Adani (Puffin)

3rd place: A Hero Like Me by Angela Joy & Jen Reid, illustrated by Leire Salaberria (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)

 

The Diverse Book Awards  2024 – Best Children’s Book

WINNER: Steady For This by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books)​

2nd place: Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

3rd place: The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books)

 

The Diverse Book Awards  2024 – Best Young Adult Book

WINNER: The First Move by Jenny Ireland (Penguin Random House Children’s)

2nd place: Away With Words by Sophie Cameron (Little Tiger)

3rd place: A Million To One by Adiba Jaigirdar (Hodder Children’s Books)

 

The Diverse Book Awards  2024 – Best Adult Book

WINNER: Maame by Jessica George (Hodder and Stoughton)​

2nd place: Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Viking)​

3rd place: Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah (HarperCollins)

 

The Diverse Book Awards  2024 – Readers’ Choice Awards

Best Picture Book: Thunderboots by Naomi Jones, illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown (Oxford University Press)

Best Children’s Book: Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)

Best Young Adult Book: Boy Like Me by Simon James Green (Scholastic)

Best Adult Book: Until Proven Innocent by Nicola Williams (Hamish Hamilton)