Information Book Award

Resource type: Book awards

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4

Region(s): All of UK

The Information Book Award was established in 2011 to reinforce the importance of information books and celebrate the high standard of titles available. There are three separate age categories:

Under 7s
Ages 8-12
Ages 13-16

The award is administered by the School Library Association and judged by a panel that includes experienced librarians. Winners are selected for each category and there is also an Overall Winner.

The IBA Book Club provides young readers with the opportunity to ‘shadow’ the judging and vote for their own category and overall winners.

Read our winner and shortlist announcement for the Information Book Award 2026.

Timetable:

The 2026 shortlist is announced in January.
The winners of the Information Book Award and the Children’s Choice Award will be announced in the summer term.

Cost: Free.

About the School Library Association: The School Library Association (SLA) is an independent charity and membership organisation that believes every pupil is entitled to effective school library provision. The SLA supports all those responsible for school libraries through advice, training and advocacy.

Further resources:

Watch a recording of a webinar on how to run the Information Book Award in your school here.
Other children’s book awards for non-fiction include the Young People’s Book Prize and the UKLA Information Book Award.
The National Non-fiction November entry has more resources and book recommendations for non-fiction.
Other book awards that offer an opportunity for children to vote for their favourite title(s) include the Carnegies Shadowing Scheme, the Excelsior Award, the FCBG Children’s Book Award, the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards, the Shropshire Bookfest Book Awards, the Spark! School Book Awards and the Young People’s Book Prize.
For a full listing of children’s book awards judged by adults, click here. Book awards judged by young people can be found here.