The Diverse Book Awards 2025 – Shortlist Announced!
10 September, 2025The shortlist for The Diverse Book Awards 2025 has been announced.
Now in their sixth year, The Diverse Book Awards were set up by award-winning author Abiola Bello and award-winning publicist Helen Lewis to highlight the year’s outstanding diverse and inclusive books across four categories: Picture Books, Children’s Fiction, YA Fiction and Adult Fiction.
‘We believe there’s a need to showcase the talent of marginalised voices, so we came up with The Diverse Book Awards to open a space where the spotlight is on them.’ Abiola Bello and Helen Fields, co-founders of The Diverse Book Awards.
The Diverse Book Awards donate their review copies to UK schools, libraries and hospitals. Apply to receive free copies of 2-4 books here.
Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators shortlisted for The Diverse Book Awards 2025!
Picture Books
A Fairy Called Fred by Robert Tregoning, illustrated by Stef Murphy (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin)
Grandma’s Locs by Karen Arthur, illustrated by Camilla Ru (Tate Publishing)
Me and My Hair by Kimberley Kinloch, illustrated by Jessica Gibson (Usborne Publishing)
Olu’s Teacher: A Story About Starting Nursery by Jamel C. Campbell, illustrated by Lydia Mba (Walker Books)
Pearl and her Bunch by Momoko Abe (Orchard Books)
Priya Mistry and the Paw Prints Puzzle by Babita Sharma, illustrated by Ali Pye (Orchard Books)
The Boy Who Loves to Lick the Wind by Fiona Carswell, illustrated by Yu Rong (Otter-Barry Books)
The Language of Flowers by Shyala Smith, illustrated by Aaron Asis (Lantana Publishing)
Until You Find the Sun by Maryam Hassan, illustrated by Anna Wilson (Hodder Children’s Books)
Children’s Fiction
Birdie by J. P. Rose (Andersen Press)
Bobby Bains Plays a Blinder by Bali Rai, illustrated by Daniel Duncan (Barrington Stoke)
Bringing Back Kay-Kay by Dev Kothari (Walker Books)
Mayowa and the Sea of Words by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The Boy Who Fell from the Sky by Benjamin Dean (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
The Cheat Book (Vol. 1) by RAMZEE (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt (Usborne)
The Nine Night Mystery by Sharna Jackson (Puffin)
The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief by Claire Linney (Self-published)
YA Fiction
Dancers of the Dawn by Zulekhá A. Afzal (Rock the Boat)
Desi Girl Speaking by A. S. Hussain (Hot Key Books)
I Never Shall Fall in Love by Hari Conner (Simon & Schuster)
If My Words Had Wings by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)
King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books)
Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll (First Ink)
The Boy Next Door by Jenny Ireland (Penguin Random House Children’s)
The Thread That Connects Us by Ayaan Mohamud (Usborne)
Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence (Penguin Random House Children’s)
Adult Fiction
Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli (Magpie)
Alter Ego by Helen Heckety (Renegade Books)
Ground by Jadelin Gangbo (Jacaranda)
Godzilla and the Songbird by Manzu Islam (Peepal Tree Press)
Lost Love Songs by Ingrid Persaud (Faber)
Rinsing Mũkami’s Soul by Njambi McGrath (Jacaranda)
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron (Piatkus)
The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams (Faber)
The Witness by Alexandra Wilson (Sphere)
Yorùbá Boy Running by Biyi Bándélé (Hamish Hamilton)
The winners of The Diverse Book Awards 2025 will be announced on 9th October at an in-person award ceremony in London. Watch out for our winner announcement.
For more children’s book awards, click here.
