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 Council Kirklees Libraries
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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

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Allow me to introduce myself
Nwabineli, Onyi
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS * LONGLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE A page-turning novel about the dark side of social media, perfect for fans of Bella Mackie, Rebecca F. Kuang or Yomi Adegoke 'Dark, entertaining and addictive' Stylist * A Grazia 'Hot New Novel' pick...
Alter ego
Heckety, Helen
WINNER OF THE 2025 ADCI LITERARY PRIZE BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'Powerful, joyful, heartbreaking and so funny all at once' SARA NISHA ADAMS 'Every now and then a book comes along that changes the way you see the world, and this is...
Away with words
Cameron, Sophie
Paper Book
Set in a world where words appear physically when people speak, AWAY WITH WORDS explores the importance of communication and being there for those we love. Gala and her dad, Jordi, have just moved from home in Cataluña to a town in Scotland, to live with Jordi's boyfriend...
The ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
Cameron, Briony
Paper Book
'Packed full of action, excitement, peril and romance on the high seas, this is the sapphic pirate book of my dreams' SARAH UNDERWOOD, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea 'Thrilling, heart-pounding adventure meets thoughtful feminist history . . . a rare and special...
Bellies
Dinan, Nicola
Paper Book
'Smart, hilarious and deeply moving' Elliot Page, author Pageboy 'Bellies announces Nicola Dinan as a genuine literary talent, a gimlet-eyed cartographer of the human heart' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti 'Thoughtful, seductive, and...
Birdie
Rose, J.P.
Paper Book
Birdie Bagshaw has never known her parents. Having grown up in a childrens home for mixed race children in 1950s Leeds, now she has come to live with her great-aunt Mabel in the Yorkshire Dales. From her arrival, things are strained, and Birdie cannot understand why she is treated like an outsider...
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
  "Believable characters and the warmth of Green's writing bring light to a difficult topic" - Observer "Deliciously funny and self-referential" - Children's Books Ireland In the margins of a book's pages, sparks fly as a teenage romance begins. But in this time and...
The boy next door
Ireland, Jenny
Paper Book
Finbar and Molly were childhood best friends. They live next door to each other and spent hours and hours together. Until they didn't. Now 18, Fin and Molly move in very different circles. Molly is popular, pretty, dating the most handsome boy in the whole school. Fin has one friend and...
The boy who fell from the sky
Dean, Benjamin
Paper Book
Combining the warmth and heart of Ross Welford's The 1,000 Year Old Boy with the epic adventure and inseparable friendship of Frank Cottrell Boyce's Cosmic comes an otherworldly new middle grade adventure from the award-winning Benjamin Dean. Twelve...
Bringing back Kay-Kay
Kothari, Dev
Paper Book
Close to Home
Magee, Michael
Paper Book
Sean is back. Back in Belfast and back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through. Back in these scarred streets, where the promised prosperity of peacetime has never arrived. Back among his brothers, his ma, and all...
Desi Girl Speaking
Hussain, A. S.
A powerful and ultimately hopeful exploration of teenage mental health from an important new voice.
The fights that make us
Hagger-Holt, Sarah
Paper Book
"The Fights That Make Us is a thought-provoking, heartwarming wonder." Maz Evans, author of Who Let the Gods Out?"Highly engaging, completely relatable and truly empowering, I loved this book." Jen Carney, author of The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.An unputdownable read about LGBTQ+ history and...
Final year
Goodfellow, Matt; Todd-Stanton, Joe
Paper Book
Life can be tough in your last year of primary school. Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS at his side - they've been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in...
Fire rush
Crooks, Jacqueline
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023 AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR It's time to dance, to love, to be free... 'Mesmerising' BERNARDINE...
The first move
Ireland, Jenny
Paper Book
Juliet believes girls like her - girls with arthritis - don't get their own love stories. She exists at the edges of her friends' social lives, skipping parties to play online chess under a pseudonym with strangers around the world. There, she isn't just 'the girl with crutches'. ...
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 2025 ...
Ghost Girl, Banana: Worldwide Buzz and Rave Reviews for This Moving and Unforgettable Story of Family Secrets
Wharton, Wiz
Paper Book
*** SHORTLISTED FOR THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS 2024 *** *** LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD *** A GRAZIA BOOK CLUB PICK, Ghost Girl, Banana is a powerful debut novel about the family secrets unearthed by a surprise inheritance. Set...
Gina Kaminski saves the wolf
Barr-Green, Craig
Paper Book
An empowering retelling of Little Red Riding Hoodabout challenging the traditional narratives we are told, with a confident, autistic character at its heart.   Gina Kaminski is here to tell you three facts. 1 - Little Red Riding Hood is full of BIG mistakes. ...
Glitter boy
Eagleton, Ian
Paper Book
  "You are an inspiration!" - Mariah Carey on Ian Eagleton "Poignant, defiantly fabulous story" - Guardian "Glitter Boy is a nuanced, heart-warming and character led story of finding joy and love " - Elle McNicoll, author of A Kind of Spark "An unflinching and...
Gwen & Art are not in love
Croucher, Lex
Paper Book
'Exactly what I needed right now - a delightful, heartwarming, hilarious historical romp, overflowing with queer panic and terrible jokes. I loved it' - ALICE OSEMAN, bestselling author of HEARTSTOPPER 'Fun and genuinely funny, with lovely friendships and first-rate...
The House of Broken Bricks
Williams, Fiona
Paper Book
Lyrical and powerful - a tender debut about family, loss and life in the countryside.
How (Not) to Have an Arranged Marriage
Khan, Amir
Paper Book
A romantic debut following the adventures of a young Muslim student doctor who is 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...
I'm going to be a princess
Taylor, Stephanie
Paper Book
A warm and witty celebration of the lives of amazing Black women.
Kicked out
Dassu, A.M.
Paper Book
This sequel to Dassu's award-winning debut,Boy, Everywhere,finds Ali and Sami living their dream, playing football for the school team and hanging out in their friend Mark's new luxury pool. But money goes missing and racism rears its ugly head when their friend Aadam is accused of the theft. Can...
King of nothing
Lessore, Nathanael
Paper Book
A laugh-out-loud teen comedy with heart from the Yoto Carnegie-shortlisted author of STEADY FOR THIS!
Lost love songs
Persaud, Ingrid
An unforgettable story of four incredible women: this novel combines the depth, and flair of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida with the devastating brilliance and truth of A Brief History of Seven Killings.
Maame
George, Jessica
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Hilarious, honest and heartbreaking, MAAME is the most moving debut of 2023 - and a heroine you'll never forget.*Read with Jenna Today Book Club Pick**Apple Book of the Month**A 2023 Debut of the Year as chosen by:...
Mayowa and the Sea of Words
Onuzo, Chibundu
'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
Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of TIME's Best YA books of all time and winner of the YA Book Prize 2022, gives Titanic an Ocean's 8 makeover in this nail-biting heist set onboard the infamous ship. Four friends have stolen aboard the Titanic. They...
Nightbloom
Medie, Peace Adzo
Paper Book
  'Remarkable' Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters' Street  AKORFA AND SELASI WERE ONCE INSEPARABLE. NOW, THEY MUST REPAIR THEIR BROKEN RELATIONSHIP OR LOSE EACH OTHER FOREVER. Growing up in the same small Ghanaian town, Selasi and Akorfa were more than just...
One little word
Coelho, Joseph
Paper Book
Waterstones Children's Laureate, Joseph Coelho, tells the story of a hairy monster that rips two best friends apart. And there's only one little word that can make it go away! This big hairy monster slowly balloons in size, ruining everyone's fun. But...
Priya Mistry and the paw prints puzzle
Sharma, Babita
Paper Book
Introducing Priya Mistry - corner shop super sleuth! She's a Mistry by name, and mysteries are her game. When some puzzling paw prints appear on the floor of her family's corner shop, Priya grabs her mission kit and kicks off an investigation. Can Priya crack the case and...
Rab Howell : a Romani story
O'Neill, Richard
Paper Book
  A gripping football-filled adventure based in the Romani community of 19th-century Sheffield. "The superb Voices series takes unsung heroes of the past and imagines them recounting the story of their remarkable lives' " - The Times   This action...
Safiyyah's war
Khan, Hiba Noor
Paper Book
Small Worlds
Nelson, Caleb Azumah.
Paper Book
The one thing that can solve Stephen's problems is dancing. Dancing with his best friend Adeline, two-stepping around the living room, crooning and grooving, so close their heads might touch. Dancing alone, at home, to his father's records, uncovering parts of a man he has never truly known. ...
Some like it cold
McNicoll, Elle
Paper Book
A big-hearted small-town romance from bestselling, award-winning author Elle McNicoll, Some Like it Cold is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman, Beth Reekles and Gilmore Girls.After a long absence, 18-year-old Jasper is finally heading home for the holidays - and she's keeping secrets.Arthur, a budding...
Steady for this
Lessore, Nathanael
Paper Book
Meet MC Growls, wannabe rapper and star of the show in the laugh-out-loud teen novel of the year!
Stop! That's not my story
Halls, Smriti
Paper Book
'A brilliant rhyming picture book that will help children see themselves at the centre of a story.' Joseph Coelho, Children's Laureate A joyful, empowering call to be the hero of your OWN story! A girl opens up a book looking for the story that's perfect...
The storm swimmer
Weze, Clare
Paper Book
The author of THE LIGHTNING CATCHER is back with an exciting, imaginative and heartfelt middle grade novel perfect for fans of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant and The Shark Caller. Summer was supposed to be Ginika's time for fun, friends and fairs. But...
The thief of Farrowfell
Guron, Ravena
Paper Book
Readers love the world of Farrowfell: 'Very exciting. I love the edible magic.' 'I absolutely adored it.' 'Highly recommended.' 'A very entertaining, well plotted and fast paced story.' 'The idea of edible magic was original and...
This book kills
Guron, Ravena
Paper Book
"For fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M McManus." The Observer "An awesome book, full of mystery, friendship and sass. ***** " The Sun*Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2024* *Shortlisted for the British Book Awards 2024*-------------------------------------------------- "I'll make it clear from the...
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
*Winner of Best Picture Book at the Diverse Book Award 2024* 'A thoughtful, profound, important book' Irish Independent 'A realistic but hopeful look at two children's emigration' Publishers Weekly Powerful and timely, To The Other Side...
Until You Find The Sun: A story about discovering home wherever you go
Hassan, Maryam.
Paper Book
*Shortlisted for the Inclusive Books for Children Awards 2025* "A bright, empathetic picture book about adapting to change and maintaining connections with loved ones far away" Guardian The critically acclaimed, uplifting story about finding your way in...
Wild song
Mackay, Janis
Paper Book
A boy overcomes his fear of water and connects with nature in this powerful novel of transformation.
The witness
Wilson, Alexandra (Barrister)
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...
The wrong shoes
Percival, Tom
A beautiful and urgent exploration of the experience of child poverty from Tom Percival, creator of the bestselling Big Bright Feelings series, for fans of Boy at the Back of the Class.  'Powerful and moving with the potential to change lives'...
Yorùbá boy running
Bandele-Thomas, Biyi
'Run, j yi, run!' The day the Malian slave traders invaded the Nigerian town of Òsog n, thirteen-year-old j yi's life was split in two. Before, there was his childhood, surrounded by friends and family, watched over by the ancient Yor ba gods of forest and water, earth...
You think you know me
Mohamud, Ayaan
Paper Book
"Will leave you feeling moved and inspired. A must read!" CosmopolitanA stunning debut about finding the strength to speak up against hate and fear, for fans of The Hate U Give and I Am Thunder.People like me are devils before we are angels. Hanan has always been good and quiet. She accepts her role...
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/786.1149/list/6438

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