Winner & Listees
The Bath Children’s Novel Award is an international prize for unagented emerging children’s writers and we are thrilled to announce our 2025 winner and listees.
Submissions were invited from March through November 2025 with a record 2,401 entries. We were delighted by the quality of submissions and 20 manuscripts were longlisted in December by authors in Europe, North America and Oceania.
Junior Judges aged seven to seventeen years shortlisted their favourite four full manuscripts and Clare Wallace of Darley Anderson Children’s Literary Agency then judged the overall winning book. She said: “This was an exceptionally difficult decision to make – these four entries are all so different, all so exciting to read and all so well executed, and all have just so much potential. So, the BCNA gave me a very tough choice to make!”
Our heartfelt thanks to Clare for her wise and insightful judging, and to the Junior Judges for their earnest and enthusiastic consideration of this year’s manuscripts.
Winner – Prize £5,000
JUDGE’S COMMENT: “This is a beautifully voiced, fast-paced, adventure full of truly child-friendly set-pieces and characters, with an intriguing villain, as well as exploring acceptance and found family. I was struck by the excellence of the writing here, and the careful balance of action and heart. And who wouldn’t want to be a nighthawk detective?” – CLARE WALLACE
MELANIE WHITMARSH left the UK twenty-five years ago and has since lived in Indonesia, Vietnam, Georgia, and Spain, working as a corporate copywriter and magazine editor. It’s no surprise, then, that she loves books about travel, adventure, language, and outsiders. She started writing The Nighthawk Detectives and the Phantom of Antarctica during lockdown, inspired by news reports of animals venturing into urban spaces, and later by the Endurance22 expedition – the search for Shackleton’s ship. The Nighthawk Detectives is an atmospheric action-adventure about persistence, hope, and home. Earlier drafts have listed for the Exeter Novel Prize, the WriteMentor Novel & Picture Book Award, and the Yeovil Children’s Literary Prize.
Shortlisted
JUDGE’S COMMENT: “THE SECOND DEATH OF LUCY ANDERSON is ambitious in its scope, twisty, and told in a brilliantly commercial tone. It had me gripped and a little afraid, which is exactly what you want from a YA read like this!” – CLARE WALLACE
ELIZABETH FRATTAROLI grew up on a small Scottish island where she spent her days walking along the beach and making up tales of faraway places in her head. Today, she lives in another seaside town on the East Coast of Scotland and spends her time writing contemporary stories for young adults and children. Her fascination with folklore and dark fairy tales creeps into her writing, giving her words a haunting quality. Her work has been listed for the Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition, the WriteMentor Novel Award, and the Wells Festival of Literature Book for Children Award. The Second Death of Lucy Anderson is a tense and unsettling gothic fairy tale which explores isolation, second chances, and the things we sacrifice for love.
Shortlisted
JUDGE’S COMMENT: “THE BLACK POPPY moves at a cracking pace, is quickly absorbing and tightly written, and has the highest of stakes! There’s a lovely link to animals here, as well as timely themes, and again this felt like an aspirational and truly child-friendly read.” – CLARE WALLACE
L. L. HETHERINGTON grew up in a busy house in Cumbria, surrounded by family, friendships, and long days spent outdoors. Early storytelling emerged through the games she and her sisters invented together, and it was during these childhood adventures that the first seeds of The Black Poppy were sown. Years later, a creative writing night class at the University of Bristol marked the beginning of her writing journey in earnest, and after Hetherington’s work in the arts took her from London to Svalbard the story fell into place. Living in the High Arctic shaped the emotional and imaginative landscape of the book, allowing the characters of Martha and Ed and the hidden underworld they discover, to fully emerge. The Black Poppy is deeply rooted in place, drawing on themes of family, courage, and the worlds that exist just beyond what we think we know.
Shortlisted
JUDGE’S COMMENT: “HOW (NOT) TO BE A SOCIAL VAMPIRE has such a fantastic voice. I loved the premise, the funny delivery, and the unreliability, of the protagonist, Gordy. Full of warmth, humour and relatability.” – CLARE WALLACE
JAMES SCHANNEP is an American author, husband, and father of three. As a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) with a Bachelor’s of Science in English Literature and General Engineering, he served honorably in the Air Force before turning to writing full time. He’s written award-winning screenplays and short stories, as well as a series of interactive gamebooks. How (Not) to Be a Social Vampire is a comedic story about a middle schooler who’s not ready to grow up, so pretends to be a vampire when he’s forced to start over at a new school. Previously written as a YA book, an earlier draft shortlisted for our 2023 adult prize which James re-vamped (so to speak) to MG. The novel’s stakes often strike right in the heart; dealing with loss, grief, and acceptance.
The Cornerstones PWA Longlist Prize
KATHERINE STEWART wins the CLC / PWA Longlist Prize for FOST AND LOUND her middle grade novel for younger readers. The prize is awarded for the most promising longlisted manuscript and Katherine wins a place on the eighteen week course Edit Your Novel from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and the Professional Writing Academy, worth £1,980.
Judging comments: “A brilliant concept and enjoyable read that’s so playful with words: the magic and playfulness weaves through the more serious subject matter of Alfie’s parent’s divorce and the uncertainty he faces.” – Monica Chakraverty and Kyrie Roxby at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.
Bath Children’s Novel Award 2025 Longlisted
| Elaine Banfield | One New Message |
| Lisa Donyamalinia | Lark and the Thieves of Winter Hollow |
| Lois Foster | Anomaly Island |
| Elizabeth Frattaroli | The Second Death of Lucy Anderson |
| Judith French | Flossie and Frog |
| Polly Gillon | Unique |
| Emma Hemingford | The Theatre at Drury Lane |
| LL Hetherington | The Black Poppy |
| Christy Kirkpatrick | The Best Friends Club |
| MA Lazarus | The Magic Pond |
| CS Lee | Ripped |
| Anne Mawdsley | Puffling and the Light |
| Ruth Moore | The Island of Last Hope |
| Jules Risingham | The Siren Keeper |
| EJ Robinson | Swordfern |
| James Schannep | How (Not) to be a Social Vampire |
| Hannah Sheldon-Dean | The Pines |
| Katherine Stewart | Fost and Lound |
| Gary Thomas | Edith Wilderspin – Witches’ Finder (Extraordinaire) |
| Melanie Whitmarsh | The Nighthawk Detectives and the Phantom of Antarctica |
Now Open for 2026 Submissions
