Founded in 2000, the Branford Boase Award was set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase of Walker Books, who both died in 1999, and is unique in honouring editor as well as author.
Wendy Boase co-founded Walker Books in 1978 with Sebastian Walker and Amelia Edwards. Her role was to look after the words and she was instrumental in shaping the list, and especially in editing the fiction. Finding new authors was one of Wendy’s talents and she nurtured many prize-winning writers including Lesley Howarth and Hugh Scott. Her authors relished her passion for their writing and her obsessive eye for detail. Combined, these ensured that they were driven, though not against their will, to produce their best.
Henrietta Branford began writing when she was 40, starting with pieces for a local newspaper, and before long was writing books for children and winning prizes. Henrietta’s books covered the whole range from picture books to teenage novels. Dimanche Diller, the first in a trilogy about the eponymous heroine, won the Smarties Prize and in 2002 was awarded the Prix Tam-Tam in France; Dimanche Diller and The Fated Sky were both shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize which Henrietta subsequently won with Fire, Bed and Bone, a title that was also Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal.
The Branford Boase Award is now regarded as one of the most important awards in children’s books and has an impressive record in picking out star authors at the start of their careers. Previous winners include Meg Rosoff, Liz Hyder, Marcus Sedgwick, M.G. Leonard and Frances Hardinge. Winning editors include JK Rowling’s editor Barry Cunningham, Philip Pullman’s editor David Fickling and Fiona Kennedy, publisher of Michelle Paver, Marcus Sedgwick and Sally Gardner.
The shortlisted authors may have published other books in another genre – e.g. poetry or a picture book – but eligibility for the prize requires that this is their first children’s novel.
As well as encouraging publishers to find and promote new writers, the Award sets out to alert readers of all ages to the work of interesting newcomers.
The Award is the joint idea of Julia Eccleshare MBE and Anne Marley MBE. Julia is the former director of the Hay Festival children’s programme. Anne was Head of Children’s, Youth & Schools Services for Hampshire Library & Information Service for many years and helped to found Authors Aloud UK, an author booking agency.
This year’s judges are Nathanael Lessore, who together with his editors Ruth Bennett and Ella Whiddett won the 2024 Branford Boase Award with Steady for This; Phoebe Demeger, CLPE’s librarian; author, former bookseller and now BA Bookshop Mentor Nicki Thornton; and Rumena Aktar, SLA School Librarian of the Year and expert reviewer for Inclusive Books for Children. The judging panel is chaired by Julia Eccleshare, former children’s director of the Hay Festival.
From Glasgow, Margaret McDonald worked for the NHS after shielding for a year, during which time she finished her Masters in English literature from Glasgow University with Distinction. She also has a First Class BA (Hons) from Strathclyde University, where she studied writing. She expertly weaves her experiences into the novel, of her working-class Scottish background, her pain medication dependency, her experience working for the NHS, her partner’s work with social services, their plans to become foster carers and much more.
Margaret has previously been published in the disability-focused magazine Breath and Shadow as well as the prose and poetry magazines Bandit Fiction, Bubble Lit, In Parentheses, and The Manifest Station. She worked with a children’s therapist who grew up in the care system, as well as a Polish author, on ensuring the care system and immigrant Polish identity in Glasgow Boys were authentic.
Alice Swan is Associate Publisher at Faber, having joined the company as commissioning editor in 2013. Prior to that she worked at Scholastic.
Ama Badu is Commissioning Editor at Faber having joined the company in 2020. She acquires picture books, young fiction, middle grade and YA. She is a judge for the FAB Prize.
The complete list of titles on the 2025 shortlist are:
Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm by Ash Bond, edited by Ruth Bennett (Piccadilly Press)
The Boy in the Suit by James Fox, edited by Lauren Fortune (Scholastic)
Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence, edited by Katie Sinfield (Penguin Random House)
All the Hidden Monsters by Amie Jordan, edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House)
Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald, edited by Alice Swan, assisted by Ama Badu (Faber)
The Boy to Beat the Gods by Ashley Thorpe, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)
Running alongside the Branford Boase Award, the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition encourages writing talent in under 18s.
The Branford Boase Award is delivered in partnership with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and supported by Walker Books.
About the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers’ work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity; ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 120,000 members, and since 1977 has paid over £700million to writers.
For more information visit alcs.co.uk
About Walker Books
The Walker Books Group is one of the world’s leading independent publishers of books and content for children. This vibrant international group includes Walker Books UK, London; Candlewick Press, Somerville, Massachusetts; and Walker Books Australia, based in Sydney and Auckland.
Renowned for its truly original publishing and outstanding quality, the Walker Books Group is home to books for readers of all ages. Award-winning authors and illustrators for the group include National Ambassador for Children’s Literature, Kate DiCamillo, M.T Anderson, Patrick Ness, and Jon Klassen, and major brands for the group are Maisy, Guess How Much I Love You, Tilly and Friends, the widely acclaimed Judy Moody and the bestselling Where’s Wally/Where’s Waldo.
