IBC reveals 2025 book awards longlist

Today, Inclusive Books for Children has revealed the longlist for the IBC annual book awards. 

The IBC Awards recognise the best new inclusive children’s books published in the UK across three categories: books for babies and toddlers (aged one to three), picture books (for ages three to seven) and children's fiction (for ages five to nine). The winners in each category will share £30k in prize money. 

Children’s Fiction (5–9) longlist: 

• Beti and the Little Round House by Atinuke and Emily Hughes (Walker Books)
• Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise by Adeola Sokunbi (Nosy Crow)
• Keisha Jones Is a Force of Nature by Natalie Denny and Chanté Timothy (Little Tiger)
• Marv and the Humongous Hamster by Alex Falase-Koya and Paula Bowles (OUP)
• Nikhil and Jay: Flying High by Chitra Soundar and Soofiya (Otter Barry Books)
• Secret Beast Club: The Mer-People of Crystal Pier by Robin Birch and Jobe Anderson (Puffin)

Picture Book (3–7) longlist: 

• Aqua Boy by Ken Wilson-Max (Otter-Barry Books)
• Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin (Little Tiger)
• L Is for Love by Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank (Walker Books)
• One Day at a Time by Rachel Ip and Natelle Quek (Hodder Children’s)
• Strong Like Me by Kelechi Okafor and Michaela Dias-Hayes (Puffin)
• Terrible Horses by Raymond Antrobus and Ken Wilson-Max (Walker Books)
• The Brighter I Shine by Kamee Abrahamian and Lusine Ghukasyan (Lantana)
• Two People Can by Blessing Musariri and Maisie Paradise Shearring (Kumusha Books)
• Until You Find the Sun by Maryam Hassan and Anna Wilson (Hodder Children’s)

The third category, books for babies and toddlers (aged one to three), will go straight to shortlist due to the low number of submissions. This shortlist of three titles, to be announced in January alongside the other age categories, will preserve the very high standard being set by these book awards for all age ranges.

Fabia Turner, head of content at IBC, said: ‘We were thrilled with the breadth and depth of submissions for this year’s IBC Awards, reflecting the incredibly diverse and talented pool of book creators within the UK children's publishing industry. Each and every title on this exceptional longlist showcased visual and textual originality in storytelling, coupled with truly authentic, meaningful portrayals—making it a genuinely exciting celebration of inclusive literature for children. Whittling this longlist down to a shortlist will be incredibly tough for the judges, but we're excited to see what they choose.’

Check out our expert reviews of all the longlisted books here.