This year more than 40 books were submitted, twice as many as in its first year, and by two dozen different publishers; 20 have made it onto the longlist. These include Matt Killeen’s Costa shortlisted Orphan Monster Spy; Sophie Anderson’s widely praised fairytale adventure The House with Chicken Legs; and Onjali Q.Raúf’s sensitive, touching story about a young refugee, The Boy at the Back of the Class.
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)
Boy Underwater by Adam Baron, edited by Nick Lake and Sarah Hughes (HarperCollins)
The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell, edited by Rebecca Hill and Becky Walker (Usborne)
Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)
The Fandom by Anna Day, edited by Kesia Lupo (Chicken House)
Me Mam. Me Dad. Me by Malcolm Duffy, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)
Twister by Juliette Forrest edited by Lauren Fortune (Scholastic)
Flight by Vanessa Harbour, edited by Janet Thomas (Firefly)
Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy, edited by Linas Alsenas (Scholastic)
The Goose Road by Rowena House, edited by Mara Bergman (Walker Books)
Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James, edited by Rachel Denwood and Sarah Hughes (HarperCollins)
The Mystery of the Colour Thief by Ewa Jozefkowicz, edited by Fiona Kennedy (Head of Zeus)
I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan, edited by Lucy Pearse (Macmillan)
Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf, edited by Lena McCauley (Orion Children’s Books)
On a Scale of One to Ten by Ceylan Scott edited by Rachel Leyshon (Chicken House)
Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw, edited by Bella Pearson and Anthony Hinton (David Fickling Books)
Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton, edited Emma Matthewson (Hot Key)
Run Riot by Nikesh Shukla, edited by Emma Goldhawk (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle by Victoria Williamson, edited by Jennie Skinner and Sally Polson (Floris Books)