YA Book Prize 2025 – Shortlist Announced!

13 June, 2025

Congratulations to all the authors shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2025!

Now in its 11th year, the YA Book Prize is run by The Bookseller in partnership with Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) and celebrates the best YA fiction titles from the UK and Ireland.

This year’s shortlist of ten titles includes four debut authors and three former recipients of the award: Sarah Crossan, Adiba Jaigirdar and Danielle Jawando.

Commenting on the 2025 shortlist, Caroline Carpenter, The Bookseller‘s children’s and deputy features editor and chair of the YA Book Prize, said: “As the prize enters its second decade, it’s heartening to see that children’s publishers are still nurturing new writing talent from the UK and Ireland, as well as investing in developing long-term careers for YA authors. As ever, the 10 brilliant books on this year’s shortlist cover a wide range of genres, themes and perspectives. Many of them spotlight regional voices and characters that are under-represented in books – from young people experiencing the care and prison systems to teenagers from the LGBTQ+ and Muslim communities falling in love – and they are all engaging, empathetic and entertaining.”

This year’s winner will be chosen by a panel of judges that includes award-winning author David Almond OBE, fellow author and BookToker Busayo Matuluko and children’s bookseller Sian Wadey. The judges will also have input from teenage readers who have shadowed the prize.

All of the shortlisted authors will be invited to speak on panels at two live-streamed events on 21st August as part of the EIBF’s schools programme. You can also find out more about each of the authors and download the first chapter of their books on the YA Book Prize website.