Previous Finalists





Rules To Enter The Awards

To enter this award, you and your book must meet the following criteria:

The book must be self-published or published by a small, independent or academic press.

The book must be predominantly in English and published in 2024, 2025 or 2026.

We feel the job of The Wishing Shelf Awards is to judge books written and/or illustrated by 'humans', and not 'A I systems'. As such, books 'predominantly' written and/or illustrated by A I will not be eligible for entry.

You must send your book(s) to us between the 1st January, 2026 and the 31st December, 2026. The judges' decision is final and will not be open to appeal.

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MILLIE'S RAINBOW
Beautiful picture book.
Kindness and rainbows.
by Hilary Hawkes


No Free Speech for Hate
Provocative, chilling, topical
and razor-sharp dystopia
by Stephen Ford


Forever Boy
Isaac comes to realize his new
friend harbors dark secrets.
books2read


A Good Day and Other...
A wide-ranging collection
of imaginative, funny stories.
Amazon





Perfect Middle Grade Series
Montana and her friends
save the forest animals!
Amazon


RIVER WITCH
A haunting, emotional tale
of magic and purpose.
Amazon


THE TRALL SERIES
Middle-grade portal
fantasies set in Australia.
by Gayle Torrens


Sea Change by Nick Bamford
'A gay romance and adventure
on a yacht at sea'
nickbamford.com