The Diverse Book Awards 2026 – Shortlist Announced!
25 September, 2026The Diverse Book Awards were set up bestselling author Abiola Bello and award-winning publicist Helen Lewis to highlight the best of the diverse voices published in the UK and Ireland.
This year’s shortlist showcases titles across across two adult and four children’s categories, including: Picture Books, Children’s Fiction, YA Fiction and Non-Fiction.
Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators shortlisted for The Diverse Book Awards 2026!
Picture Books
Bessie’s Bees by George Kirk, illustrated by Ana Gómez (Templar Books)
Carnival Queen by Donette Williams-Harry, illustrated by Amélie-Anne Calmo (Little Tiger)
Cloud Boy by Greg Stobbs (Oxford University Press)
My Rice is Best by Selina Brown, illustrated by Maxwell A. Oginni (Puffin)
Noah’s New Home by Zeshan Akhter, illustrated by Nabila Adani (Templar Books)
Little Rhino Lost by Candy Gourlay, illustrated by Jamie Bauza (Otter-Barry Books)
Super Nani and Captain Yaz by Saira Shah, illustrated by Maria Gabriela Gama (Templar Books)
The Bicycle by Patricia McCormick and Mevan Babakar, illustratead by Yas Imamura (Farshore)
The Tour at School: Because You’re the New Kid by Katie Clapham, illustrated by Nadia Shireen (Walker Books)
Children’s Fiction
How to Roller-Skate with One Leg by Ella Dove (Orchard Books)
Kofi and the Brand New Vibe by Jeffrey Boakye (Faber & Faber)
My Name is Samim by Fidan Meikle (Floris Books)
My Soul, A Shining Tree by Jamila Gavin (Farshore)
Naeli and the Secret Song by Jasbinder Bilan (Chicken House)
Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past by Maisie Chan (Piccadilly Press)
Runaways by E.L. Norry (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Running My Own Race by Abena Eyeson (Nosy Crow)
Supa Nova by Chanté Timothy (Nosy Crow)
YA Fiction
Girl, Ultra-Processed by Amara Sage (Faber & Faber)
Heartbreaker by Anika Hussain (Hot Key Books)
Love on Sight by Asli Jensen (Chicken House)
Mondays Are Murder by Ravena Guron (Usborne Publishing)
Odd Girl Out by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid (David Fickling Books)
Roar by Manjeet Mann (Penguin)
Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury YA)
The Girl with the Red Boots by Alex Wheatle (Hodder Children’s Books)
’Til Death by Busayo Matuluko (Simon and Schuster Children’s Books)
Non-Fiction
Different Like Us! Inspiring Real-Life Stories from Kids Everywhere by Margaret Rooke (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
It’s a Brave Young World by Anu Adebogun, illustrated by Soofiya and Lila Cruz (Little Tiger)
TEN Children Who Changed the World by Paterson Joseph, illustrated by Rumbidzai Savanhu (Wren & Rook)
The Endless Sea by Chi Thai, illustrated by Linh Dao (Walker Studio)
We Are Your Children: A History of LGBTQ+ Activism by David Roberts (Two Hoots)
The winners of The Diverse Book Awards 2026 will be announced on 22 October at an in-person award ceremony in London. Watch out for our winner announcement.
For more children’s book awards, click here.
