The entry deadline was 5pm BST, 2 June 2026.

We would like to thank the thousands of children who entered the competition with the help of their parents, carers and educators. The team has enjoyed reading each and every entry and we loved seeing how many passionate young readers there are across the country. 

If your child or pupil is longlisted, the Booker Prize Foundation will email each longlisted entrant’s parent, carer or educator, depending on who completed the entry form, by close of play on 23 June 2026 with instructions for round 2 of the entry process.

See below for more information about round 2 and 3 of the selection process, FAQS, and terms and conditions.
All personal information submitted in the entry forms will be treated confidentially and according to the Booker Prize Foundation’s privacy policy.

Our safeguarding policy can be found here.

Who can enter, and what will child judges have to do?  

• Any parent, carer or educator on behalf of a child who is aged eight to 12 on 28 April 2026 (born between 29/04/13 and 28/04/18) and who is a resident in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• Educators must ensure they have the permission of a child’s parent or carer before submitting an entry on their behalf and that they have made the parent or carer aware of the information on this webpage
• Child judges must be willing to read the eight shortlisted books selected by the adult judges between 24 November 2026 and 15 January 2027. The books will be provided by the Booker Prize Foundation “BPF”, who will also provide appropriate guidance for the children to fulfil the reading and judging requirements
• Child judges must be available to attend a judging day in London on 16 January 2027 with a responsible adult. The judging day is designed to be a fun experience for the child judges to meet the three adult judges, discuss the eight books on the shortlist and then choose a winner
• Child judges must be available to attend a ceremony at the Young V&A Museum in London during the day on 2 February 2027 with a responsible adult. The child judges will be VIP guests at the ceremony, where the winner of the Children’s Booker Prize 2027 will be announced. It will be a high-profile celebration of books for young readers featuring exciting activities in the museum’s inspiring spaces. The child judges will be invited to present the winner with their trophy. The event will be livestreamed
• BPF will liaise with the child judges’ schools and appropriate local authorities to make their attendance possible at the ceremony
• Terms and conditions for the two trips to London are provided in clause 4 here
• Child judges will be required to participate in filming, photography and media opportunities to promote their role as a judge for the Children’s Booker Prize. These activities will be carried out in accordance with our safeguarding and privacy policies, and will be outlined in detail should your child be longlisted in the competition. 

What is the Booker Prize Foundation looking for in its child judges?  

BPF is looking for children aged eight to 12 from a range of backgrounds and locations across the UK to be judges. They will need to have the ability to read and discuss eight shortlisted books. We are looking for children who are:  

• excited about the opportunity to be a judge;
• passionate about stories and reading;
• willing to try reading a range of books, from graphic novels to chapter books, adventure to comedy, fantasy to football, and more;
• confident to talk about what they have read and enthuse other readers;
• able to consider other people’s points of view and work together in a group;
• imaginative, with a curiosity about the world.

What will happen after you have submitted your initial entry form?  

1. Round 1 scoring 

BPF has assembled a team including BPF staff members and volunteers from the education, arts, culture and other professional sectors to read the children’s entries and score each of their answers to the five questions against the following criteria:  

• enthusiasm for judging the prize;
• passion for stories and reading;
• ability to talk about books in terms of characters and plot;
• imagination and curiosity about the world.  

The entries shared with the the sifting team will be anonymous – entrant’s details including their name, age, address, school and gender will not be shared with the sifters.

2. Round 2 

BPF will longlist a minimum of 50 children from the eligible entrants, based on the scores awarded, with a view to arriving at a longlist that includes a mix of children in terms of location, gender and interests, in order to reflect a range of possible readers for the books the prize rewards. Each of the longlisted children will be sent, via their parent, carer or educator, a downloadable certificate to recognise their achievement. 

BPF will email each longlisted child’s parent, carer or educator, depending on who completed the entry form, by 23 June 2026 and will provide instructions for round 2 of the entry process. If the child, would like to continue with their entry, their parent or carer must reply by email within five working days or we reserve the right to select a different entrant. BPF must have confirmation provided directly by the parent or carer on behalf of their child – BPF cannot accept confirmation from an educator in this round. The longlisted entrants will be asked, with the support of their parent, carer or educator, to record and upload a short video of themselves answering a series of questions about being a Children’s Booker Prize judge between 29 June and 15 September 2026.   

The entrant’s parent or carer will be asked to sign a video release form and to reconfirm or agree (if the original entry was submitted by an educator) to the prize’s terms and conditions around judging commitments, attendance at the ceremony, filming, photography and media. Additional proof of age and identity may be requested at this time. Any entrant can withdraw at this point, and in this instance BPF may, at their discretion, decide to longlist a replacement entrant.

3. Round 3 

From the longlisted entrants, the BPF team will shortlist a minimum of 10 children, who best fulfil the criteria outlined across the process. 

Each of the shortlisted children will be emailed a £10 book voucher and a certificate to recognise their achievement will be posted to their parent or carer’s address.    

BPF will telephone the parent or carer (and educator too, if applicable) for each shortlisted child no later than 25 September 2026 and provide them with instructions for round 3 of the entry process. If the child, would like to continue with their entry, the parent or carer must confirm by telephone or email within five working days or BPF reserve the right to select a different entrant.  BPF must have confirmation provided directly by the parent or carer on behalf of their child – BPF cannot accept confirmation from an educator in this round. The shortlisted entrants will be asked, alongside their parent, carer or educator, to participate in a video call in the week commencing 5 or 12 October 2026 in which they will have a conversation with the BPF team about being a Children’s Book Prize judge.  

4. Child judge selection 

From the shortlisted entrants, BPF will select three child judges. BPF will telephone the parent or carer (and educator, if applicable) for each of three child judges no later than 21 October 2026 and provide them with full instructions for judging. If their child is happy to be a judge the parent or carer must confirm by telephone or email within five working days or BPF reserve the right to select a different entrant. BPF must have confirmation provided directly by the parent or carer on behalf of their child – BPF cannot accept confirmation from an educator.  

The three child judges will be sent, by post, the eight shortlisted books selected by the adult judges.

What will a child or pupil win if they are selected as a judge?

• A trip to London for the judging day
• A trip to London for the ceremony where they will be invited to announce the winner and present them with their trophy
• Terms and conditions for the two trips to London are provided in clause 4 here
• A judges’ medal
• A bespoke portrait by Beano illustrator Nigel Parkinson
• A comic strip produced by the Beano capturing the children’s judging experience, published in the magazine 

Terms and conditions

Please read the terms and conditions for entering the Children’s Booker Prize 2027 child judge competition here.

If you have any questions about child judging, please email [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.