The hunt for the first Children’s Booker Prize child judges is on! UK kids aged 8-12 can now apply to join Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Lolly Adefope to help crown the 2027 winner.
The search is on for a young book lover to join the first ever Children’s Booker Prize judging panel.
The Booker Prize Foundation has opened a nationwide search for three children to join the judging panel for the first-ever Children’s Booker Prize.
The competition, which launched today, Tuesday 28 April 2026, invites UK-based youngsters aged eight to 12 to help select the winner of the prestigious new literary award.
The successful applicants will sit alongside a heavyweight adult panel consisting of actor Lolly Adefope, bookseller Sanchita Basu De Sarkar, and the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who serves as Chair of judges.
The prize, supported by the AKO Foundation, celebrates contemporary fiction for readers aged eight to 12. In a unique move for a major literary award, the children will have an equal voice in the final decision, ensuring the winning book is a recommendation from young readers to their peers.
READ MORE: 5 must-read books that made top authors fall in love with readingREAD MORE: Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026 shortlist spotlights fresh voices and small publishers
“Eat Loads of Snacks and Decide”
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the multi-award-winning author of Millions , issued a rallying cry to young bookworms in a video broadcast on the Booker Prizes website.
Cottrell-Boyce said: “I’ve been asked to find three book-loving kids to join me in judging the first ever Children’s Booker Prize. Whether you’ve read one book this year or a hundred; whether you love comic books or big thick chapter books; books with loads of pictures, books with no pictures; it doesn’t matter, YOU could be exactly the judge that we’re looking for.”
Describing the final deliberations, he added: “We will get together for a special judging day, when we’ll argue and laugh and eat loads of snacks and decide which is the very best. And then we’ll have picked the winner. If you love reading and you love talking about books you would be perfect to be a Children’s Booker Prize judge.£
A Mission to Spark Reading for Pleasure
The prize arrives at a critical moment, with reports suggesting children’s reading for pleasure is at its lowest level in two decades. To combat this, the Booker Prize Foundation has pledged to gift 30,000 copies of the shortlisted and winning books to children who need them most.
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, highlighted the social mission behind the award, stating that the prize is underpinned by a mission to create future generations of lifelong readers. Wood said: “This new prize is underpinned by a social mission: to create future generations of lifelong readers.
Want to hear the latest books news and reviews from The Mirror’s resident bookworm? Follow Aimée Walsh on Tiktok and Instagram
“We feel confident that we can enthuse children if we are armed with the very best. By ‘best’, we mean books that readers will love, books that can be read over and over again or enjoyed just once.”
Sanchita Basu De Sarkar, owner of the Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, added that children make for the “most passionate and opinionated readers.” She added: “Reading, talking, sharing. What more could anyone want? Judging with the children is going to be a completely unique experience… whenever we sit down and discuss books together, I’m always gaining new perspectives.”
Perks of the Post
The three chosen child judges will receive a host of prizes in partnership with the Beano. These rewards include the eight shortlisted books to keep, a judges’ medal, and a trip to London to choose the winner with the adult judges.
Additionally, each child will receive a bespoke portrait by Beano illustrator Nigel Parkinson, a dedicated Beano comic strip, and a VIP invitation to the ceremony at Young V&A on 2 February 2027.
Lolly Adefope, star of the BBC sitcom Ghosts , expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration and the unique perspectives the younger judges will bring to the table. Adefope said: “I’m so excited to judge the Children’s Booker Prize.
“I love that the prize recognises the importance of judging children’s books with the same rigor and respect as the adult fiction prizes, and can’t wait to hear the perspectives of my fellow judges, none more so than the child judges whose input matters most of all.”
The prize money mirrors the adult Booker Prize, with the winner receiving £50,000 and shortlisted authors receiving £2,500. Entries for the child judge competition close on 2 June 2026. The shortlist of eight books and the final three child judges will be announced on 24 November 2026, leading up to the winner announcement in early 2027.
Parents, carers, and educators can submit entries on behalf of children at thebookerprizes.com/children
Love reading? Join Dr. Aimée Walsh and our community of fellow readers in the Mirror Book Club to dive deeper into the books everyone is talking about.
