Background

Leeds Book Awards started in 2009 and has evolved into a successful city wide initiative, run jointly between Leeds Libraries and School Library Service.

After a successful 10 years, we are now looking at how we can further grow and develop the Awards and will be announcing plans for our 2020 Leeds Book Awards in the Autumn.

Supporting a lifelong love of books will remain at the heart of our project. Further information about the aims of the Books Awards and the Selection Criteria can be found below

Aims of the Leeds Book Award

To inspire the development of a city of readers through:

• Promoting libraries and encouraging reading for pleasure for all children
• Celebrating the best of newly published children’s literature across all key stages
• Championing books which celebrate diversity in terms of authorship, character, and/or genre
• Increasing the awareness of teachers, librarians, parents and children of the world of children’s books and reading
• Providing the opportunity for active participation of children and young people in reading, reviewing, debating and voting for their favourite books
• Developing regular opportunities for children to meet and engage with children’s authors and illustrators

Award criteria and eligibility

• The Award is for all newly published children's fiction books across all key stages of the curriculum (Foundation Stage; Key Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4)
• Poetry, graphic novels, anthologies non- fiction and self published books are currently not included. Books published as part of a series are generally not considered (although the first in the series may be considered)
• Translations published for the first time in the UK
• To be eligible, all books must have been published in print in the UK between 1 January and 31 December of the previous year
• The book must be written in English and be specifically published for children