Nominations reached a record high this year in the fourth Diverse Book Awards. With a new category of Picture Books added to the line-up, 160 books were submitted across the awards covering Children’s, Young Adult and Adult Fiction.
Following a hugely successful prize in 2022, The Diverse Book Awards, created by publishing entrepreneurs Abiola Bello (award-winning author) and Helen Lewis (prize-winning publicist), continues to evolve to become ever more inclusive and interactive. This year, readers in schools, libraries, book clubs, and homes across the country, are invited to vote for their number one winner in each of the four longlisted categories as part of The Readers’ Choice Award. Votes will close on 28th September (when the shortlist will be unveiled) and the winners will be confirmed at the awards party on October 25th at Waterstones Piccadilly in London. Teachers, booksellers and librarians are already showing their support for this new addition to The Diverse Book Awards as a way of encouraging people to support the full longlist – and to help shine a spotlight on the longlisted books and authors/illustrators for longer.
THE READERS’ CHOICE AWARD ARE NOW OPEN FOR YOUR VOTES: https://bit.ly/DBAsReadersChoiceAwardVote
Today, as the fourth Diverse Book Awards longlist is officially uncovered, the hope is that the lists will become essential reading on a national level, highlighting the outstanding diverse and inclusive books published by authors based in the UK and Ireland during 2023.
Abiola Bello, co-founder of The DBAs: “The standard for the awards is always really high but this year in particular blew me away! So many books were deserving of the top 12 and there are even some that I loved but there just wasn’t enough space for them. The Adult category in particular was huge, and I got to discover some new authors. Authors are writing so many brilliant diverse books and the variety this year was amazing to read. It was great to see a range of big and indie publishers. There’s a book for everyone on the longlist. We need to make sure we’re doing all we can to support them. And a massive thank you to the judges for helping us create the longlist!”
Helen Lewis, co-founder of The DBAs: “Our Awards are bigger than ever this year; not just in terms of the number of books nominated – up year on year since we started in 2020 – but in terms of the addition of a Picture Book category, as well as our newly-announced Readers’ Choice Award. We have listened to feedback from teachers, librarians, and readers – they wanted to support the award further and this seems like a great way of giving a voice those who actively champion diverse books.”
The Diverse Book Awards Longlist 2023
Adult Longlist
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu (Dialogue Books)
Losing The Plot by Derek Owusu (Canongate Books)
Love Marriage by Monica Ali (Virago)
News At Noon by Anietie Isong (Jacaranda)
One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Marie-Claire Amuah (Oneworld)
Still Lives by Reshma Ruia (Renard Press)
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli (Magpie)
The Attic Child by Lola Jaye (Pan Macmillan)
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany (Trapeze)
Wahala by Nikki May (Doubleday)
Who’s Loving You: Love Stories by Women of Colour, edited by Sareeta Domingo (Trapeze)
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (Viking)
Young Adult Longlist
Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow (Hot Key Books)
Blood to Poison by Mary Watson (Bloomsbury)
Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite (Quercus Children’s Books)
Gay Club! by Simon James Green (Scholastic)
If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So (Little Tiger)
Love In Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello (Simon & Schuster)
The Haunting of Tyrese Walker by J.P. Rose (Andersen Press)
The King Is Dead by Benjamin Dean (Simon & Schuster)
The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven (Electric Monkey, imprint of HarperCollins)
Toxic by Natasha Devon (UCLan Publishing)
When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)
Why Is Nobody Laughing by Yasmin Rahman (Hot Key Books)
Children’s Longlist
A Flash of Fireflies by Aisha Bushby (Farshore)
Ajay and The Mumbai Sun by Varsha Shah (Chicken House)
Future Hero: Race To Fire Mountain by Remi Blackwood (Scholastic)
Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu by Maisie Chan (Piccadilly Press)
Kiki Kallira Conquers A Curse by Sangu Mandanna (Hodder Children’s Books)
Marv and The Dino Attacks by Alex Falase-Koya, illustrated by Paula Bowles (Oxford University Press)
Mia and the Lightcasters by Janelle McCurdy, illustrated by Ana Latese (Faber Children’s)
Sadé and her Shadow Beasts by Rachel Faturoti, illustrated by Rumbidzai Savanhu (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Elemental Detectives by Patrice Lawrence (Scholastic)
The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger by J.T. Williams, illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)
The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton, illustrated by Valentina Toro (Puffin)
The Twig Man by Sana Rasoul (Hashtag Press)
Picture Book Longlist
Bookworms by Nyanda Foday, illustrated by Joelle Avelino (Andersen Press)
Dadaji’s Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Ruchi Mhansane (Andersen Press)
I am NOT a Prince by Rachael Davis, illustrated by Beatrix Hatcher (Orchard Books)
John Agard’s Windrush Child by John Agard, illustrated by Sophie Bass (Walker Books)
Me & My Dysphoria Monster by Laura Kate Dale, illustrator Ang Hui Qing (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
Nour’s Secret Library by Wafa Tarnowska, illustrated by Vali Mintzi (Barefoot Books)
Our Story Starts in Africa by Patrice Lawrence, illustrated by Jeanetta Gonzales (Magic Cat)
Our Tower by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Richard Johnson (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)
Saving The Butterfly by Helen Cooper, illustrated by Gill Smith (Walker Books)
Small’s Big Dream by Manjeet Mann, illustrated by Amanda Quartey (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
The Missing Piece by Jordan Stephens, illustrated by Beth Suzanna (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
You Need To Chill by Juno Dawson, illustrated by Laura Hughes (Farshore)
