The shortlist for the 2022 Branford Boase Award has been revealed.

Launched in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, the Branford Boase Award is presented annually to the author of the most promising début novel for children aged seven and up. Uniquely, the Award also honours the editor of the winning title, highlighting the important role an editor plays in developing and nurturing new talent.

Since it was first awarded in 2000, the Branford Boase Award has sought to celebrate and encourage new authors at the start of their writing career. Many of the award’s winners and shortlisted authors have gone on to become celebrated figures in the children’s book world. They include Siobhan Dowd, Frances Hardinge, M.G. Leonard, Kiran Millwood, Patrick Ness, Mal Peet, Onjali Q Rauf, Meg Rosoff and Marcus Sedgwick, to name but a few.

This year, eight titles were shortlisted from a longlist of 24 by a panel of judges made up of last year’s winner, author Struan Murray, critics and educationalists. With books for readers aged 7 to 17 and stories that cover a wide range of subjects, this year’s shortlist has something for everyone.

Congratulations to all the authors and editors!

The 2022 Branford Boase Award shortlist:       

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen, edited by Carmen McCullough and Tricia Lin (Penguin)

Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan, illustrated by Anh Cao, edited by Georgia Murray (Piccadilly Press)

The Upper World by Femi Fadugba, edited by Emma Jones, Stephanie Stein & Asmaa Isse (Penguin)

Grow by Luke Palmer, edited by Penny Thomas (Firefly Press)

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr, edited by Zoë Griffiths (Bloomsbury)

Digger and Me by Ros Roberts, edited by Ella Whiddett and Ruth Bennett (Little Tiger)

The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter, edited by Lauren Fortune (Scholastic)

Grimwood by Nadia Shireen, edited by Ali Dougal (Simon and Schuster)

The overall winner of the 2022 Branford Boase Award will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday 14 July 2022. Watch out for our winner announcement.

For more children’s book awards, click here.