With voting for 2025’s award well underway, we are please to confirm that this year’s longlist will be signed off on Thursday, December 18th. If you entered, we will email you to let you know if you have longlisted from 19:00 GMT (UK time). In the meantime, please find below details about when and where to view voting comments, plus what happens next if you are longlisted.

Votes and Golden Votes

For each novel or chapter book, readers vote YES or NO to the question: ‘Did this extract and synopsis make you want to read the full?’ For picture book texts, readers vote YES or NO to the question: ‘Would you want to read this picture book text again?’

Each reader also has the option to award one golden vote — a rare and special commendation reserved for a manuscript they can’t stop thinking about. Any book which receives one or more golden votes is automatically longlisted, alongside the entries that receive the highest number of regular YES votes.

How Long Are Longlists?

Each year, the length of our longlists reflect readers’ response to the submissions we receive. In some years, a small number of entries dominate the votes, resulting in a more compact longlist. In other years, votes are spread across a wider range of entries, so the longlist naturally grows. Over the past three years, our Children’s Novel Award longlists have averaged at 20 titles.

How to View Vote Comments

On the eve of the longlist we share a selection of vote comments to give insight into what resonated most strongly with our readers. We share a representative selection of YES votes plus all golden votes. This year’s selection will be shared on Bluesky from 19:00 GMT on Wednesday, December 17th. You don’t need to be signed up for Bluesky to see the votes, which can be found @bathnovelaward.co.uk using this link.

If I Am Longlisted, What Happens Next?

If you are longlisted, we will email you an invitation to submit your full manuscript for the shortlisting stage. Invitations will go out from 19:00 GMT on Thursday, December 18th and the deadline for full manuscript submissions is Sunday, December 21st, 2025 at 23:59 GMT.

When Will the Full Longlist Be Shared?

As our awards are judged blind, we keep longlistees’ names under wraps until all judging is complete. The overall winner, as judged by Clare Wallace and the shortlist, as chosen by our Junior Judges will be announced here in late February, along with the recipient of the longlist prize and the names of all listees.

Thank you to all entrants and the very best of luck for Thursday’s longlist!