The Infinite by Patience Agbabi, edited by Jo Dingley (Canongate)
The Sky is Mine by Amy Beashel, edited by Gill Evans; commissioning editor, Shadi Doostdar (Rock the Boat, an imprint of Oneworld)
Wranglestone by Darren Charlton, edited by Katie Jennings (Stripes)
Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion)
Boy, Everywhere by A.M. Dassu, edited by Emma Roberts (Old Barn Books)
The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliott, edited by Annalie Grainger & Megan Middleton (Walker)
When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten, edited by Sarah Odedina (Pushkin Press)
A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth by Francesca Gibbons, edited by Nick Lake (HarperCollins Children’s Books), illus by Chris Riddell
Last Lesson by James Goodhand, edited by Ben Horslen (Penguin)
Orla and the Serpent’s Curse by C.J. Haslam, edited by Frances Taffinder (Walker Books)
Witch by Finbar Hawkins, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)
And the Stars were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon and Schuster)
The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley, edited by Lucy Mackay-Sim (Bloomsbury)
The Wolf Road by Richard Lambert edited by Mikka Haugaard (Everything with Words)
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion)
A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, edited by Eishar Brar (Knights Of)
Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann, edited by Carmen McCullough (Penguin)
Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray, edited by Ben Horslen (Puffin), illus Manuel Sumberac
Anisha Accidental Detective by Serena Patel, edited by Stephanie King (Usborne), illus Emma McCann
The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne), illus Rob Biddulph
Are You Watching? By Vincent Ralph, edited by Tig Wallace (Penguin)
The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler, edited by Jane Griffiths (Simon and Schuster), illus Chris Mould
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke, edited by Naomi Colthurst (Puffin), illus Ayesha L. Rubio
The Pure Heart by Trudi Tweedie, edited by Kesia Lupo (Chicken House)
Diary of a Confused Feminist by Kate Weston, edited by Sarah Lambert (Hodder Children’s Books)
‘The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 29th April 2021’.
