The three shortlists for the 2026 Jhalak Prize awards, including the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize were announced on Tuesday 14th April. First awarded in 2017, the Jhalak Prize was set up to celebrate writing by Black, Asian and minor ethnic writers living in the UK and Ireland. Its sister award for children’s and YA books was founded in 2020 and a new Jhalak Poetry Prize was added in 2024.

Open to books from across all genres and for all ages, this year’s shortlist for the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize was selected by a panel of judges made up of three award-winning authors: Sita Brahmachari, Lanisha Butterfield and Christina Pillainayagam.

Commenting on this year’s awards, prize director Sunny Singh said: ‘The 2026 shortlists exemplify the extraordinary quality of writing that the Jhalak Prize has worked hard to champion for the past decade. These lists go far beyond representation and instead are a glittering treasure trove of future classics. Here are books that excavate buried histories, push boundaries and lead us to brighter imagined and possible worlds. We cannot be prouder to be able to champion and celebrate such powerful literary works.’

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors!

The Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize Shortlist 2026:

Augmented by Kenechi Udogu (Faber & Faber)

How to Catch an Idea by Forest Xiao (Orchard Books)

My Name is Samim by Fidan Meikle (Floris Books)

Roar by Manjeet Mann (Penguin Books)

Supa Nova by Chanté Timothy (Nosy Crow)

The Shell Keepers by Truly Johnston (Chicken House)

The winners of all three prizes will be announced on June 10th at a free online event hosted at the British Library. Each will be presented with a unique work of art created by an artist of colour as part of the annual Jhalak Art Residency.