13th June 2025
Awards
Four debuts shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2025 alongside three former winners
Previous winners Sarah Crossan, Adiba Jaigirdar and Danielle Jawando will vie for the 11th YA Book Prize, taking their place in a shortlist which features four first-time novelists
F 52
our first-time authors have been nominated for the YA Book Prize 2025, as well as six established writers including three former recipients of the award: Sarah
Crossan, Adiba Jaigirdar and Danielle Jawando. Faber makes the list for the first time since
2017 with two debut novels: Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald ( 1), and Songlight by Moira Buffini. Glasgow Boys tells the story of two boys who have grown up in the care system: Finlay, who is studying for his nursing degree despite having no support network; and Banjo, who is trying to settle in with his new foster family and finish high school without letting
his anger and fear boil over. It is currently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Branford Boase Award. Songlight is the first in a trilogy by screenwriter Buffini set in a post-apocalyptic future and centres around Lark and Nightingale, who have developed the ability to connect telepathically with others and are therefore being hunted by the ruling regime. A very different post-apocalyptic first novel
also appears, OR Sorrel’s humorous Apocalypse Cow, which was acquired by Guppy Books after being discovered through the independent press’ open submission competition. It follows Mel, who is just about coping with being the only “out” lesbian in school, as well as school bullies and her dreary Saturday job, when domestic animals suddenly lethally turn on humans and her love life flips on its head. The final debut nominated is Lover Birds by Leon Egan( 2), published by HarperFire. The queer romcom sees students Isabel and Eloise’s outright contempt for each other turn into an oddly satisfactory rivalry, but their relationship must withstand classism, distrust and secrets before it can progress to romance. Crossan, who scooped the YA Book Prize in
2016 for One, is nominated again with Where the Heart Should Be (Bloomsbury YA), a verse novel that explores love and family during The Great Hunger in Ireland in 1846 through
The YA Book Prize
Feature
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
