Now in their seventh year, the Diverse Book Awards awards were created by award-winning author Abiola Bello and award-winning publicist Helen Lewis, to highlight the best of the diverse voices published in the UK and Ireland.
We are very excited to share the shortlist for these awards, showcasing the best of the UK and Ireland’s diverse children’s books, and featuring several of our own favourite authors, illustrators and titles, along with a brand new Non-Fiction award category.
BooksForTopics favourites among the Picture Books shortlist include a heartwarming, laugh-out-loud celebration of food, culture and friendship in My Rice is Best, and a touching story of family, toys and superheroes in Super Nani and Captain Yaz, both of which feature in our Year Group Recommended Reads. Also shortlisted are picks from our Characters with ADHD and Neurodiverse Characters booklists, including the story of a preschooler with ADHD who is learning to manage her wiggles in Bessie’s Bees, and a colourful exploration of the challenges faced by neurodivergent children in Cloud Boy.
The Children’s Books category highlights a number of our favourites, including a compelling story of courage and friendship which highlights the experiences of young refugees in My Name is Samim, and a multi-perspective historical novel based on the true story of an Indian WWI gunner in My Soul, A Shining Tree, both of which feature in our Year Group Recommended Reads. Also shortlisted is How to Roller-Skate with One Leg, Ella Dove’s story of an extraordinary girl navigating ordinary tween years after an accident resulted in limb difference, which is featured in our list of Children’s Books with Disabled Characters.
The shortlist for the YA Books category includes some exciting titles and authors. Ravena Guron is featured with YA thriller Mondays are Murder, alongside Manjeet Mann’s empowering novel of resistance, Roar.
This year’s new Non-Fiction category features exciting fact books for readers of all ages, including a collection of inspiring real life from children in stories in Different Like Us!, an empowering guide to life in It’s a Brave Young World, and a poignant story of a journey that is at once historical and timely in The Endless Sea.
Check out the full shortlist for the 2026 Diverse Book Awards below!
