The Week Junior Book Awards 2024 Shortlist Announced

We're thrilled to announce the shortlist for The Week Junior Book Awards 2024 brought to you in partnership with The Bookseller.

Celebrating the brilliant world of children’s books and the talented people who create them, The Week Junior Book Awards honour the authors, illustrators and publishers who inspire children to read for pleasure. The emphasis is on original ideas, outstanding illustration and smart storytelling, as well as new and diverse talent. 

View the full shortlist - and cast your votes at theweekjuniorbookawards.co.uk.

TV personalities Jamie Oliver, Susie Dent and Adam Rutherford make the shortlist

Jamie Oliver, Susie Dent, Julia Donaldson, Adam Rutherford, and Philippa Forrester are among the authors of the 74 books shortlisted in The Week Junior 2024 Book Awards announced today in collaboration with The Bookseller, and partners WHSmith, World Book Day, and LoveReading4Kids. The awards aim to inspire children to read for pleasure, as a new report shows a drop of 4.4 percent in the number of books being read by children*.

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Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is shortlisted for his debut audiobook Billy and the Giant Adventure, which he narrates himself; Countdown and 8 out of 10 Cats presenter Susie Dent is nominated in the Wellbeing category for her book Roots of Happiness – an uplifting guide to positive words; author and playwright Julia Donaldson CBE is shortlisted for her picture book The Bowerbird; BBC Radio 4 host of Inside Science, British geneticist Adam Rutherford is nominated for his fascinating exploration of human history, Where Are You Really From? in the STEM book category; and TV presenter Philippa Forrester is shortlisted in the Animals and Nature category for her book Amazing Animal Journeys.

Sparking a love of reading

Launched in 2023, The Week Junior Book Awards were created to celebrate children's books and honour creative excellence within the industry. The shortlisted books will be shared directly with the award-winning news magazine’s eight to 14-year-old readers and their families via a 12-week promotional campaign. Retail partner WHSmith is offering the magazine’s readers a voucher for 20% off all Children’s Books (excluding education) instore and online.

Anna Bassi, editorial director of The Week Junior, says, "The 74 books on our shortlist represent an incredible range of authors, illustrators, designers, stories and subjects – testament to the endless creativity and innovation in children’s publishing. Our judges are in for some excellent reading over the next couple of months. I’m really excited to find out which of the books readers of The Week Junior elect to win our Children’s Choice trophy – this is their chance to vote and I hope they’ll use it. With reading for pleasure seemingly in decline I’d like to think our shortlists will inspire more kids to give books a go, discover something new, and hopefully spark a love of reading that lasts for life."

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, comments, "In its second year, The Week Junior Book Awards already feels firmly established; and these shortlists have everything we need them to have, showcasing the breadth, creativity, colourfulness, and the sheer power of story-telling and fact-weaving that we know children's writers and illustrators are always capable of. Hurrah once again to The Week Junior for continuing to support children's books."

Six new categories

The 13 book categories include six new categories this year, launched in response to feedback from publishers and reflecting the interests of The Week Junior’s readers. These are: Animals and Nature; Graphic Novel; Hobbies and Interests; Picture Book; Poetry, and Wellbeing. They join the other categories: Audiobook; Breakthrough Book; Cover of the Year; Fiction Older; Fiction Younger; Non-Fiction, and STEM (in partnership with The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine).

Among the shortlisted books in the Non-Fiction category is the Guinness World Records 2024, which celebrates its 70th anniversary next year, reflecting its enduring appeal to young readers. 

The Breakthrough award shortlist, sponsored by the charity World Book Day®, includes Pari Thomson’s “spellbinding” Greenwild: The World Behind the Door; Zohra Nabi’s “magnificent” The Kingdom Over the Sea, and G.M.Linton’s “heartwarming hug of a book” My Name is Sunshine Simpson.

Winners to be announced 30 September

The shortlisted books were selected from more than 370 entries with the help of an expert committee representing booksellers, librarians, literacy charities, children’s book reviewers and primary school teachers. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on 30 September.

Readers of The Week Junior will have the chance to vote for Book Cover of the Year and the Children's Choice Award – the overall winner of the shortlist in all categories. Alongside them, the prestigious judging panel includes CBBC Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto; Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho; author and Place2Be ambassador Sophie Dahl; children’s TV presenter and author Jess French; Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph, and award-winning author SF Said, who was the winner of the Older Fiction award in 2023.

*What Kids Are Reading report 2024

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