The Diverse Book awards

Created by bestselling, award-winning author Abiola Bello and award-winning publicist Helen Lewis. We want to highlight the best of the diverse voices published in the UK & Ireland both traditionally and self-published. We believe there's a need to showcase the talent of marginalised voices, so we came up with The Diverse Book Awards to open a space where the spotlight is on them.

thediversebookawards.co.uk

Updated September 22, 2025
Kirklees Libraries
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Allow me to introduce myself
Nwabineli, Onyi
Paper Book
Her life. Her rules. Finally. Anuri Chinasa has had enough. And really, who can blame her? She was the unwilling star of her stepmother's social media empire before "momfluencers" were even a thing. For years, Ophelia documented every birthday, every skinned knee,...
The ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
Cameron, Briony
Paper Book
This "thrilling, swashbuckling story" (People) based on true events illuminates a woman of color's rise to power as one of the few female pirate captains to sail the Caribbean, and a forbidden love story that will shape the course of history. In the tumultuous town of...
Bellies
Dinan, Nicola
Paper Book
"Smart, hilarious, and deeply moving." --Elliot Page A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR from NPR, BookRiot and BookPage Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Books of 2023 It begins as your typical boy meets boy. While out with...
Bobby Bains plays a blinder
Rai, Bali
Paper Book
A young Sikh footballer reaches out across the generational divide to help a lonely old man in an uplifting story from acclaimed author Bali Rai. Bobby Bains loves football. He also loves helping other people. As a Sikh, it's part of his religion. While helping his mum at the...
Boy like me
Green, Simon James
Paper Book
In the margins of a book's pages, sparks fly as a teenage romance begins. But in this time and place, sparks like these can only ignite trouble. It's 1994 and thanks to Section 28, there can be no mention of gay relationships in UK schools. When a kind librarian leads Jamie to a disguised...
Close to Home
Magee, Michael
Paper Book
While growing up in West Belfast, Sean does every­thing he's supposed to do. He works hard, he studies, and he - mostly - stays out of trouble. The thirty-year conflict is over, he's told, and his future is lit with promise. But when Sean returns home from university, he finds much...
Fire rush
Crooks, Jacqueline
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2023 "[A] powerful debut." --The Washington Post "An exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer." --Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl,...
Flower Block
Butterfield, Lanisha.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2025 Children's Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing Winner of Derby Book Festival's - Derby Children's Picture Book Award 2025 Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2025 Illustrator Hoang Giang longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration...
Ghost Girl, Banana: Worldwide Buzz and Rave Reviews for This Moving and Unforgettable Story of Family Secrets
Wharton, Wiz
Paper Book
Set between the last years of the "Chinese Windrush" in 1966 and Hong Kong's Handover to China in 1997, a mysterious inheritance sees a young woman from London uncovering buried secrets in her late mother's homeland in this captivating, wry debut about family, identity, and the price of belonging...
Gwen & Art are not in love
Croucher, Lex
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! "A total, rollicking delight. Gwen & Art gave me the same cheeky, swoony, giddy, irresistible high of the first time I saw A Knight's Tale. Lex Croucher is one of my favorite romcom authors, and they should be yours...
The House of Broken Bricks
Williams, Fiona
Paper Book
Every marriage has its seasons...It's autumn when we meet Tess, but her relationship with Richard is in a deep, cold winter. A winter so harsh, their union may never see the bright light of spring. Tess is a Londoner whose relationship with Richard transports her from a...
How (Not) to Have an Arranged Marriage
Khan, Amir
Paper Book
A debut novel following the adventures of a young Muslim student doctor torn between his traditional family and his heart. He's the perfect catch (according to his mother). Yousef is the golden child to his strict, Pakistani parents, overshadowing his younger sister,...
Kicked out
Dassu, A.M.
Ebook
In this stand-alone companion novel to the acclaimed Boy, Everywhere, A. M. Dassu returns to extend the story of Sami's best friend Ali, who organizes a charity soccer match for their friend Aadam while his whole life is privately unraveling.   <...
Maame
George, Jessica
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! * A Today Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick * A February 2023 Indie Next Pick "Sparkling." --The New York Times "An utterly charming and deeply moving portrait of the joys<...
Mayowa and the Sea of Words
Onuzo, Chibundu
Paper Book
'Joyful and truly original' - Katherine Rundell, author of Impossible Creatures WARNING: DO NOT JUMP ON THIS BOOK! Have you ever jumped on a book? Perhaps not. Most people would think it was a rather unusual thing to do. ...
A million to one
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
2024 Rainbow Book List Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of Time's Best YA books of all time, gives Titanic an Ocean's 8 makeover in this nail-biting heist set onboard the infamous ship. Josefa is an unapologetic and charismatic thief who loves the thrill of the chase. She has her eye...
Nightbloom
Medie, Peace Adzo
Paper Book
Inseparable when they were girls but now estranged, cousins Akorfa and Selasi have to repair the silences between them or lose each other forever in this moving novel set in Ghana and America from the author of Reese's Book Club pick His Only Wife. "Stunning." -...
One little word
Coelho, Joseph
Paper Book
Safiyyah's war
Khan, Hiba Noor
Paper Book
Inspired by the true story of how the Grand Mosque of Paris saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II, this breathtaking tale of suspense, compassion, and courage stars an extraordinary young heroine readers will never forget. "A riveting read for children and adults alike." -...
Small Worlds
Nelson, Caleb Azumah.
Paper Book
An exhilarating and expansive new novel about fathers and sons, faith and friendship from National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and Costa First Novel Award winning author Caleb Azumah Nelson One of the most acclaimed and internationally bestselling "unforgettable" (New York...
Some like it cold
McNicoll, Elle
Ebook
This book kills
Guron, Ravena
Paper Book
I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn't even help...Well, not intentionally. All Jess Choudhary wants is to keep her head down, do her work, and make it through high school without any problems. As a scholarship student--and one of only two students...
Those people next door
Abdullah, Kia
Paper Book
'A gripping page-turner about nightmare neighbours' Platinum 'A small act of malice between suburban neighbours snowballs, bringing tension and terror. Terrific and hugely thought-provoking' Ian Rankin 'One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy five stars' Lisa Jewell *...
To the other side
Meza, Erika
Paper Book
Author-illustrator Erika Meza delivers a stunning and emotionally rich book from the viewpoint of those most impacted by border walls: young refugee children. This powerfully told tale highlights the spirit and strength of those embarking on a dangerous trek, and what awaits them on the other...
Until You Find The Sun: A story about discovering home wherever you go
Hassan, Maryam.
Paper Book
An uplifting story about coping with change and finding your way in a new and unfamiliar place, by debut author Maryam Hassan, beautifully brought to life with illustrations by Anna Wilson. Aminah's life is full of warmth and joy, from days spent in the golden sunshine eating...
The witness
Wilson, Alexandra (Barrister)
Paper Book
THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY MURDER. A young black man is arrested for murder. The case against him is strong - a mum and a teacher saw him standing over a body in a park, a knife still in hand. But his up-and-coming barrister Rosa...
Yorùbá boy running
Bandele-Thomas, Biyi
Paper Book
"A true artist. A brilliant writer. An original thinker."--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A captivating, fictionalized retelling of African linguist and clergyman Samuel Ajayi Crowther's miraculous journey from slave to liberator. "Run, Àjàyí, run!" When Malian slave traders...

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