Welcome to the Spark! School Book Awards

From a small awards starting in two London boroughs, Spark! has grown year on year to become nationwide. And this year we are proud to be celebrating our fifth birthday!

How it works?

 Spark! is a on a mission to get children reading. We are an award where the children decide the winners! 

From August to October, we invite publishers to submit books that fit our criteria, before our panels of teachers, librarians and other educationalists narrow these submissions down to our shortlists. Once these are announced in early January, it's over to schools and children to read, react and vote on the winners of the Spark! Book Awards.

Get involved

Interested in joining us? Just click on the buttons below to find out more about how to get involved.

Our categories

We have five categories for schools to choose from, ranging from early years to secondary ages, plus an annually changing guest category.

Spark! Book Fund

We also want to ensure there are no obstacles to children accessing our shortlisted books. Please support our book fund to help us get books to children who might not be otherwise able to access them, as nominated by their teachers.

Here at Spark! we are dedicated to our mission that all children should be buzzed about books, from early years all the way to secondary and beyond. We hope to engage all young readers, particularly reluctant readers and those with limited access to books, and ensure everyone can see their diverse communities reflected in the books we choose. Ultimately, we are looking for books with heart.

We know that reading for pleasure offers huge benefits to children and adults alike. Working in partnership with OU RfP, we hope to inspire young readers everywhere.