Author Juno Dawson, and author and BookToker Andy Darcy Theo are joining the judging panel for 2026’s YA Book Prize. Celebrating the best YA fiction in the UK & Ireland with The Bookseller in association with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, winners of the YA Book Prize will be awarded at a ceremony on 27th August.
Juno Dawson is a writer known for both fiction and non-fiction. She has penned books for children, young adults and adults, with some of her best-known titles including: This Book Is Gay, What’s The T, and ‘The London Collection’ trilogy (Clean, Meat Market, Wonderland). Andy Darcy Theo is a British Greek Cypriot writer with an educational and occupational background. He is the author of the bestselling TikTok hit The Light That Blinds Us, which is the first book in a YA romantasy series, Descent into Darkness. The pair will join the panel alongside: Jodie Barnacle-Best, creative learning manager (maternity cover) for Edinburgh International Book Festival; Caroline Carpenter, YA Book Prize chair for The Bookseller; and Lucy Jakes, children’s buyer for Waterstones.
The YA Book Prize was launched in 2014, and was founded to encourage more young people to read, raising the profile of great YA writing from the UK and Ireland. The prize “celebrates great fiction for teenagers and young adults, shining a light on original voices, engaging stories and bold publishing.
“Reflecting the mission of the National Year of Reading, it aims to inspire teenagers and young adults to engage with books and find their new favourite reads.”
The shortlist, which will be announced 18th June, is selected by a team from The Bookseller. The final winner will then be selected by a panel of both expert and teenage judges.
