Established in 2013 the Bath Novel Awards are annual international prizes for emerging authors The Bath Childrens Novel Award is our £3000 prize for emerging childrens authors and we are delighted to announce this years shortlist
For the first time we welcomed picture books alongside chapter books and novels for children or teens Authors in 40 countries submitted 1218 extracts and synopses between 1st June and 30th November and a longlist of 21 manuscripts announced in December 2022 The fulls of the longlisted books were then read in full by our team of Junior Judges aged seven to seventeen who shortlisted their favourite books
Making the shortlist are a picture book three childrens novels and a free verse YA Their casts include a girl who rescues and rehomes words she finds scattered in the outside world a Sri Lankan Scottish girl who discovers a hidden world of tiny people who live in shells a girl with the power to extract other peoples emotions as essences for therapeutic use an eight year old Japanese boy who saves a miniature C19th ninja warrior he finds drowning in his bowl of soup a sixteen year old starting a new life after her mum was sent to jail
All shortlistees win a compilation of feedback from the Junior Judges and one longlistee will win a place on Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and Professional Writing Academys acclaimed online editing course
As the prize is judged blind we will reveal the writers names when the winner as judged by literary agent Amber Caravéo is announced on 28th February 2023
In the meantime many congratulations to the authors of the Junior Judges top five manuscripts
Beautiful Whisper
Corrine and the Democonch
Ninikos Shop of Pure Essences
The Daring Misadventures of Hiroto Okami
The Other Side of Normal