New Children’s Fiction Awards

Teach Primary magazine has announced the launch of an aspirational new award scheme for children’s fiction, and is inviting submissions from publishers to arrive before February 27th, 2015. Titles for consideration must have a publishing date between 30/04/14 and 30/04/15, and the list of winners will be revealed in a special publication focused on all aspects of literacy across the primary curriculum, in May 2015.

“It’s called The Teach Primary New Children’s Fiction Awards – but that doesn’t mean we’re looking for debut works,” explains the magazine’s editor Joe Carter. “The idea is simply to pick out brilliantly told stories, whether from first time or established authors, that might inspire primary school aged pupils to pick up a book for pleasure, both within and beyond the classroom.

“We know that teachers understand the importance of nurturing a love of reading from an early age, and the difference it can make for student outcomes at all stages of their educational journey; highlighting titles that they can share with and recommend to pupils is something that Teach Primary has always taken very seriously indeed. These awards are a natural development of our commitment to encouraging great children’s writing, and an opportunity for us more widely to recognise exceptional contributions to this vital and flourishing genre.”

A shortlist of titles selected from all submissions will be considered by a high-profile panel of judges in order to announce a winner and two runners up in each of three categories: Reception, KS1 and KS2.

“Even in this digital age, nothing can inspire a child’s imagination and creatively quite as effectively as a good book,” comments Helen Mulley, literary reviewer across all Maze Media (2000) Ltd’s education titles, which include Teach Nursery, Teach Secondary and Technology & Innovation magazines. “The Teach Primary New Children’s Fiction Awards will celebrate the very best books of the past year, and represent a guarantee of quality that teachers and children alike can trust.”

To find out more, email Helen Mulley: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Notes for editors/publishers

1. Submissions should be sent to:

Helen Mulley, Children’s Fiction Awards

25, Phoenix Court

Hawkins Road

Colchester

Essex

CO2 8JY

2. The closing date for submissions to arrive is February 27th.

3. Submissions should be clearly marked according to the category for which they are to be considered (Reception, KS1 or KS2).

4. All submissions must have a publishing date between April 30th 2014 and April 30th 2015 – uncorrected proofs are acceptable for titles that will be published after February 27th.

5. Self-published titles will not be considered.

6. Multiple copies of shortlisted titles will be requested and required for the final stage of judging.

7. The panel’s decision will be final, and winning titles will be announced in a special publication to be launched on May 15th ; they will also be listed at teachprimary.com.