IBC Awards 2025 longlist revealed!

IBC Awards 2025

The Prize

Free to enter and with a total winners’ prize fund of £30,000, the IBC Awards celebrate the talent behind the best new inclusive children’s books published in the UK.

We are accepting new books traditionally published in the UK between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024, in the following categories:

Baby and toddler books (1–3)
Picture books (3–7)
Highly illustrated children’s fiction (5–9)

A £10,000 prize will be shared between the winning author and illustrator in each category. Deadline for entries is 20 September 2024.

Submit an entry

What we’re looking for

Submissions are limited to fictional stories except in the Baby and Toddler category (see Terms and conditions).

Books must also be naturally inclusive, including AT LEAST ONE of the following forms of representation at main-character level:

Ethnic minority
Disabled
Neurodivergence
LGBTQIA+

Judges will also consider whether books offer any of the following:

An Own-Voice perspective (i.e. books by authors/illustrators who share the same cultural, ethnic or other identities as the characters they've created)
A challenge to gender stereotypes
Representation of diverse family structures (e.g. single-parent, blended or same-sex parent families)
A diverse cast of characters beyond the main character

For more information on eligibility and how to submit, read our Terms and conditions.

Read Terms and Conditions