Good news comes all at once! Firstly, a huge happy publication day to the wonderful wife-and-husband duo, Evgenia Golubeva and Myles McLeod, whose new series launches today. Fairytale Fiasco has already been chosen as one of Waterstones Best Books for February, and is entertaining young readers with mischievous retellings of classic tales, featuring a fabulously brave Cleo and her friend Mark (Book Mark of course). With a launch tonight, we’re excited to see this series fly!
And today we also found out that Guppy Books has been chosen as a Regional and Country finalist South East England British Book Awards SMALL PRESS OF THE YEAR! Now that’s a mouthful… Thank you to our amazing Guppy team who are just so brilliant at what they do.
And last but most definitely not least, HUGE congratulations to Louisa Reid, whose HANDLE WITH CARE has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal. We are so proud to be the publisher of this powerful, hard-hitting and unflinching YA book – and it’s fantastic to see that these expert librarians agree.
Evie and Maryam shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize AND the Read for Empathy Collection 2026!
It’s quite the day for Janeen Hayat and her Guppy Open Submission winner, EVIE AND MARYAM’S FAMILY TREE!
Not only has it been chosen as part of the Read for Empathy Collection 2026, but it has also been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Younger Reader category. What a wonderful celebration of a hugely compelling and beautifully-told mystery for children aged nine and up – plus their adults too!
It tells the story of Evie and Maryam, two very different girls in the same class, who are put together for a school project – and in an incredible twist of fate, discover that their families connect all the way back to the time of partition in India, their great-grandparents friends in Delhi at a time of upheaval and tensions. This beautiful story of friendship, family history, race, class and mutual understanding was the winner of the Open Submission Competition in 2023 and we are so delighted that it is being recognised as such an important story for today.
Huge congratulations to Janeen, thank you to Debasmita Gupta for the beautiful cover. And watch this space for news about book two about these two wonderful girls, out this summer!
New sales team!
We are excited to announce that from Monday 2nd February 2026, Guppy Books will be represented by Bounce Sales and Marketing. With nine field sales representatives based around the UK and Ireland, and a strong marketing, export and special sales team at head office, Bounce is well known for having the largest specialist children’s books sales team in the UKm distributing to the trade both here and overseas. For more info, please contact sales@bouncemarketing.co.uk.
Guppy titles will be distributed through Macmillan Distribution Services from 2nd February.
BEST OF ALL WORLDS chosen as the The Times Children’s Book of the Year!
We were absolutely thrilled to see Kenneth Oppel’s masterful sci-fi dystopian thriller, BEST OF ALL WORLDS, was chosen as The Times Children’s Book of the Year. What an accolade for this extraordinarily thought-provoking novel – as reviewer Lucy Bannerman writes:
‘Original, inventive and thought-provoking, BOAW does a number of things brilliantly… This is a spell-binding sci-fi that speaks directly to 13-year-old boys who love games like Minecraft and Dungeons and Dragons. But it’s also an electrifying mystery that will appeal to anyone who is interested in its big questions about society, tolerance and whom to believe when no one really has the answers. And the big, bold ending defies any predictions. Utterly engrossing.’
Wow! Super proud to be publishing this book – and signed copies are available on the website!
And the winner is…!
Huge congratulations to VICTORIA RICHARDS, who has won the Guppy Open Submission Competition 2025 with her fantastically funny middle-grade story MAGGIE MAYHEM AND THE HAIRY HAMSTER PANTS! A brilliantly comedic yet sweet tale with a super fun, energetic and charismatic main character, we loved Maggie, Ace and of course, the numerous fluffy hamsters!
A huge thanks to the panel of judges: author and editor, Linda Sargent, editor Adamma Okonkwo and Chris Baker, teacher and librarian – their insights and advice was invaluable – I’m very grateful to them all.
And thank you to all the shortlistees for their brilliant entries; I look forward to discussing each of their submissions in editorial chats, and also am very grateful for their patience during the judging process.
Handle with Careby Louisa Reid has been nominated – Louisa’s fourth nomination in total! – this stunning novel in both verse and prose has received rave reviews as well as being shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Award 2025 (ceremony next week!), and longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2026. This follows the amazing news that Louisa’s first book for Guppy, Gloves Off, WON the Beste Boek voor Jongeren 2025 (Best YA Book 2025) in the Netherlands this year – Louisa is simply one of our best contemporary YA writers and it is wonderful to see this being recognised around the world!
And second to be nominated for the Carnegie Medal is Kenneth Oppel’s fascinating speculative YA novel, Best of All Worlds – last week this extraordinary story was chosen as the Times Children’s Book of the Week, with a glowing review and we are so proud to be publishing Ken’s novel here in the UK. ‘ Here are just a few of the reviews it has received since its publication earlier this year…
The Times: ‘an electrifying story for young adults. It reads like a thriller, but has the soul of a ‘sandbox’ video game with an eerie element of The Truman Show thrown in for good measure’
The Guardian, Best children’s and YA books of the month: ‘hugely thought-provoking, frequently frustrating, this speculative YA novel will stay in the mind long after it’s finished’.
The Financial Times, best books to read this summer: ‘Racism, divisive politics, conspiracy theories and the environment all feature in a spellbinding and chilling fable’.
Daily Mail, Best children’s books out now: ‘I love Oppel’s control of menace and there’s deep disquiet in this dystopian thriller’.
SFX Magazine: ‘a creepy, uplifting, head-scratching fairy tale‘
BOOK COVER
Guppy Open Submission SHORTLIST ANNOUNCEMENT!
We are absolutely thrilled to announce the shortlist for the Guppy Open Submission Competition 2025 – Nicki Marshall, editor extraordinaire from the Golden Egg Academy, and publisher Bella Pearson whittled down the 22 titles to 9 strong contenders. Listed here in no particular order:
Natalie Rutherford SHEEP SWAP
Mitu Malhotra MASALA CHIPS
Andrew Baird CHASE JONES AND THE SWINGING WITCH
Susanna Callaghan KALE BRADBURY AND THE SKOOBUBBLE
Ella Leith THE BOY AT THE WYNYATES
Deborah Prince RECIPE FOR A WITCH
Cathrin Hagey BUG WITCH
Lorna Gill SILENT SONG
Victoria Richards MAGGIE MAYHEM AND THE HAIRY HAMSTER PANTS
Congratulations to you all! And now it will be the difficult job of choosing a worthy winner!
Linda Sargent and Adamma Okonkwo, our two wonderful judges who have been there from the very start of the competition in 2019, will be joined this year by guest judge, Chris Baker, school librarian in Oxford and children’s book expert – watch this space for more info in due course.
And huge thanks to everyone who entered and made it to the longlist – such an achievement to get to that stage. We were so impressed with the standard this year, and had to make some difficult choices!
THE GUPPY OPEN SUBMISSION 2025 LONGLIST ANNOUNCEMENT
HUGE congratulations to the longlistees below – we had a tough job whittling down the 250 entries to just 22, but these extracts really piqued our interest and we’re excited to read more from all of these writers! Congratulations to them all, and thank you to everyone who entered this year.
LONGLIST
Mitu Malhotra MASALA CHIPS
Andrew Baird CHASE JONES AND THE SWINGING WITCH
Rachel Burrows GETHYN AND THE WIND DRAGON
Ayesha Khan ANAS AND THE DREAD
Kirsti Sinclair OPERATION ANNA
Emmy Clarke VAMPIRE HUNTER JESS
Susanna Callaghan KALE BRADBURY AND THE SKOOBUBBLE
LJ Moss THE OTHER SIDE OF ALISSE
Diwa Aloro IF ONLY WE FLEW
Ella Leith THE BOY AT THE WYNYATES
Deborah Prince RECIPE FOR A WITCH
Katie Fraser TREE HEART
Carrie Stewart WINGS IN THE DARK
Jenny Jones CLASS ZERO
Cathrin Hagey BUG WITCH
Eimear Conboye THE GHOST IN THE OAK TREE
JJ Moore THE CURSED COVEN
Lorna Gill SILENT SONG
Zoe Fitzgibbon MARTY HEARST’S MULTI-HEARSE
Victoria Richards MAGGIE MAYHEM AND THE HAIRY HAMSTER PANTS
Natalie Rutherford SHEEP SWAP
Gary Haq MOJO SHAH AND THE SPIRIT LEAGUE
Guppy Open Submission dates update!
Thank you all for your patience waiting for news on the competition! We were thrilled to receive just under 300 submissions this year – and so much talent out there! We’re reading away and details of announcement dates are below.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF LONGLIST: 18th August 2025
ANNOUNCEMENT OF SHORTLIST: 8th September 2025
Have a wonderful summer in the meantime!
It’s that time again! The Guppy Open Submission Competition is launching for 2025!
We’re thrilled to announce that we will be opening the portholes to unagented and unpublished writers in our sixth competition – this time for MIDDLE GRADE authors. Following hot on the heels of the publication of the wonderful EVIE AND MARYAM’S FAMILY TREE written by Janeen Hayat, we are excited to announce the dates for the next competition.
The Open Submission window will be the week of 16th June, from 9am on Monday 16th June to 5pm Friday 20th June 2025 GMT.
We would like to see the first few chapters or up to 2000 words of the novel (but don’t worry too much about word count going over, this is an approximate number of words). Please also send a short synopsis. Please submit in a Word or pdf document to submissions@guppybooks.co.uk during the Open Submission window only.
Writers who have been traditionally published in other genres are unfortunately not eligible. This competition is open to self-published authors. Please send your submission to submissions@guppybooks.co.uk during the specified dates only. Any entries sent before or after this time will not be eligible. ONE SUBMISSION PER PERSON. At longlisting stage (late July) we will ask the longlistees for a nearly-finished/full novel to be sent.
Any other enquiries, please email submissions@guppybooks.co.uk.
We do not charge an entry fee, though we would invite all entrants to buy a book published by Guppy Books if they can (available from all bookshops and online retailers as well as the Guppy shop). We strive to be as open as we can and encourage all aspiring writers to apply.
A winner will be announced in the autumn of 2025, after whittling down to first a longlist and then a shortlist – please keep an eye on social media and the Guppy Books website for updates along the way. We hope to announce the longlist by the end of July.
All shortlisted authors will be offered an editorial meeting with Bella Pearson. The winner will be offered a contract with Guppy Books (with no obligation to accept).
We look forward to finding our next winner! And good luck!
Winner Janeen Hayat and her wonderful middle-grade novel EVIE AND MARYAM’S FAMILY TREE was the 2023 winner of the Guppy Open Submission, and came out in the shops yesterday. Read more about it here!
Amelia Cheeseheart is the BA Indie Children’s Book of the Month!
We are so thrilled that the very first book in our Amelia Cheeseheart series, AND the very first in our new Mini Guppy imprint, is the INDIE CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR MAY! Hooray for the amazing Cat Weldon and Nene Lonergan, author and illustrator of this magnificent series.
Amelia Cheeseheart is an intrepid, courageous mouse who investigates mysteries at the museum where she lives, with her bestie, spider Webster. Funny, charming comic-style illustrations, this is a super young graphic novel perfect for children who are just learning to read, as well as older readers who want to dive into a gorgeous world of adventure, Egyptian fun facts, and friendship. Available in ALL GOOD INDIE BOOKSHOPS and in other places too.
Announcing a brand new imprint, MINI GUPPY!
Our mission in life is to show children and young people the benefits of reading and how much fun there is to escape into the world of story – and we are thrilled to be announcing a new imprint for very young readers – Mini Guppy!
With the latest data showing children’s enjoyment of reading lower than ever and with the demand for comic books at an all-time high, there is a huge need for funny, entertaining, highly illustrated, colourful books for ages 5 and up. Providing a stepping stone between picture books and chapter books, these small tactile books with short chapters, interactive illustrations and carefully chosen vocabulary are perfect for emerging readers – ready to build a firm literacy foundation and most importantly, cement the joy of reading.
Our first series is AMELIA CHEESEHEART INVESTIGATES – a very young graphic novel set in a museum, telling the tales of courageous mouse, Amelia and her bestie Webster, who investigate mysteries set in each exhibition. With fun non-fiction facts at the very end, young readers will love the fun, gentle illustrations, and the satisfaction at having read a book all on their very own.
‘A joyful and accessible read.. an adorable comic filled with age-appropriate action and embedded in friendship’ Inis magazinestarred review
STORIES FOR CHANGE Competition!
? Calling All Young Writers. Enter the Stories for Change Competition. ?✍️
Guppy Books and the Federation of Children’s Book Groups are thrilled to announce Stories for Change – a short story competition for children aged 7-12, inspired by the themes of National Share a Story Month 2025 and Maggie Blue and the Lost Child by Anna Goodall.
This year’s NSSM theme, “Changing the World, One Book at a Time”, celebrates the power of storytelling to inspire environmental awareness, hope, and action.
In collaboration with acclaimed author Anna Goodall (Costa Book Award-shortlisted Maggie Blue series), we are inviting young writers to craft a 500-word short story inspired by their local environment. Whether it’s a school playground transformed by a secret garden, a mission to clean up a polluted pond, or a story of friendship sparked by a shared love for nature, we want to hear young peoples’ vision for change – big or small!
? Themes: The environment, climate change, hope, and action ? Who can enter? Children aged 7-12 ? Deadline: 11th April ? Prizes: Your story read by Anna Goodall, a writing ‘mini masterclass’ from Anna Goodall, signed copies of the Maggie Blue series and more …
Join us in celebrating the power of stories to change the world by sharing the competition with your schools, families and networks. Go to the FCBG website to download the submissions form and for all details!
And the 2024 Guppy Open Submission Winner is…!
HUGE congratulations to Ellen Haggan, whose novel BLACKMOOR has won the 2024 Open Submission Competition! The judges and I loved the spirit of this original and exciting fantasy novel, with such brilliantly drawn characters and a hugely exciting plot that propels the reader through the story. Huge congratulations to Ellen!
And this year, we also had a very worthy runner-up – Amelia Etherton with ALL THE WORDS FOR STUPID – a moving story set in Ireland which manages to deal with some very important themes with sensitivity, empathy and humour too – congratulations to Amelia.
A huge thanks to our ever-wonderful panel of judges: author and editor, Linda Sargent, Golden Egg editor Adamma Okonkwo and Andrea Reece, all round children’s literature wonder. It was so interesting to discuss the shortlist and their insights as ever, were thought-provoking and insightful.
And last but not least, thank you to all the shortlistees. I will look forward to discussing your books with you in editorial chats if you would like, and thank you for entering the competition and being so patient with the timing!
Some recent Guppy award news!
We attended the fantastic Week Junior Award ceremony earlier in October, and were absolutely thrilled that the two shortlisted Guppy titles each won their category – the fabulous MEXIKID: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Pedro Martín won the very first Graphic Novel Award (a new category this year) – ‘This is an amazing book!’ said the judges. And the magical PIZZA PETE AND THE PERILOUS POTIONS by Carrie Sellon won the Junior Fiction Award – ‘exceptional’ said the judges. Huge congratulations to the marvellous Pedro and Carrie – such entertaining books and such deserving winners.
And on the 4th November, the illustrious 2025 Carnegie nominations were revealed – and again, much excitement at Guppy headquarters as three titles received FOUR nominations! 100 TALES FROM THE TOKYO GHOST CAFE written by Julian Sedgwick and manga illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada received nominations for both the Carnegie Writing and the Carnegie Illustration Medals; APOCALYPSE COW by O R Sorrel has been nominated for the Carnegie Writing Medal; and MEXIKID: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Pedro as above has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Illustration Medal!
BRAVO and congratulations to our AMAZING authors and illustrators who are, quite frankly, smashing it!
Guppy Open Submission Shortlist announcement!
Well, it has been extremely difficult but finally we have whittled down the longlist to a shortlist of nine fabulous young adult stories. Thank you so much to all who were longlisted – the novels were all of such a high standard and hugely enjoyable to read. Now it’s the judges turn to agree on a winner – we hope to announce a winner towards the end of November.
The shortlisted authors and their books are, in no particular order:
Ellen Haggan Blackmoor
Lucie Bowins Elderwitch
Nell Griffin Plan A Plan B
Amelia Etherton All the Words for Stupid
Sanam Akram Madi and the Moon
Heather Grainger Lost and Found
Esther Scherpenisse Cinders and Stars
Caroline Icke Killer Queen
Sarah Bates All Your Numbered Bones
Congratulations to you all!
Revealing the 23 writers on the Guppy Open Submission YA longlist 2024!
Thank you so much for sending in your entry for Guppy’s open submission window. We were so impressed with the standard of writing, the original ideas and the incredible energy that went into all the submissions.
Huge congratulations to those who made the longlist! You will hear more about the next stages individually by email.
I have said this before many times but it’s always worth repeating: for those who didn’t make it, during my career, I have said no to SO many books that have gone on to do great things; if you don’t find yourself on this list I hope you don’t feel too disappointed. The standard of writing was very high, and I was really impressed with the level and commitment to writing for young adults.
LONGLIST in no particular order
Amy King Love You. Hate You.
Helen Price Forgive me, Father
Clare McCarron You Have My Heart
Ellen Haggan Blackmoor
Kae Tan Unprecedented Times
Lucie Bowins Elderwitch
Nell Griffin Plan A Plan B
Amelia Etherton All the Words for Stupid
Sanam Akram Madi and the Moon
Heather Grainger Lost and Found
Eve Chancellor Two Brothers
Jennifer Hicks The Fame Game
Dani Castonzo The Mermaid Seekers
Megan Pyper A Song for Solispel
Yesret Bi Displacement
Bibi Anisah Mohamoodally Never Let Me Down Again
Esther Scherpenisse Cinders and Stars
Caroline Icke Killer Queen
Lis Maimaris My Father’s Ghost
Sarah Newman Fishsong
Sarah Bates All Your Numbered Bones
Mandy Wilson-Garner MAD
Carrie Stewart The Silence
Guppy Open Submission Competition 2024 update
We are really enjoying reading all the fantastic YA submissions we received last month – what a lot of talent there is out there!
Thank you all for your patience. We’ll be announcing a longlist next Friday 26th July, and a shortlist at the end of August.
Please keep an eye on social media, plus an announcement about this year’s judges!
What it means to win the Guppy Open Submission Award! OR Sorrel spills the beans.
Every day, I still wake up completely baffled that I won the Guppy Open Submission in 2022.
It’s especially bizarre that because I won the Guppy Open Submission, I now have a real book with pages and an amazing cover, and people I’ve never actually met have bought and read it.
My journey here has been long and strange – which is incidentally how I would describe myself.
My eldest sister did her degree in Creative Writing, which helped me realise that you can do a degree in something you actually enjoy and are good at, and don’t have to do a degree in Economics and Generalised Anxiety to please your estranged relatives. So, I did the exact same degree.
My mum then did a Masters in Writing for Young People, then entered the Myslexia Novel Competition and won it. Having completed my degree in Creative Writing without a personality of my own, I decided to do the exact same Masters and enter competitions my mum recommended.
My mum has excellent taste, as it turns out. Entering the Guppy Open Submission was by far the best decision I’ve made since I started taking Sertraline. It is so, so hard to break into the children’s book industry – there are so many people out there with ideas (almost) as good as yours, and most of what you hear is rejections and Deafening Silence.
Bella was so open and warm from the very beginning. She genuinely cares so much about every book she publishes, and works harder than any person should. The whole team at Guppy is amazing, and I’ve felt very important the whole time, despite absolutely not being their only client. They’ve got my very queer, absolutely bananas apocalyptic comedy noticed by people I’d never have imagined.
I now do things like walk into bookshops and sign their copies of my book as if that isn’t completely unhinged behaviour. I’m preparing for the panel I’m on and planning the workshop I’ll be running at YALC this year. I had my own table at Abergavenny Pride. I was on the Children’s Books Ireland Pride Reading Guide. I was a Debut of the Month and Star Book for Love Reading 4 Kids. And my book only bloody came out three weeks ago. I still can’t believe any of it.
For all the kind rejections, the less kind rejections, and the Total Ignoring, it was so worth it to enter the Guppy Open Submission.
You’ll never know what could happen if you don’t let them see your words.
The Guppy Open Submission Competition 2024 is here!
It’s that time again – where we get ready to open the portholes here at Guppy Books and welcome submissions from unpublished and unagented authors for our annual competition. This year it’s the YA competition – where writers of novels for young adults have the chance to win a publication deal with Guppy Books and join our small but mighty team. On June 6th it will be the publication day of APOCALYPSE COW, the 2022 winner of the last YA Guppy Open Submission by the incredible author O R Sorrel – could your novel be the next winner?
The Open Submission window will be the week of 17th June, from 9am on Monday 17th June to 5pm Friday 21st June.
We would like to see the first few chapters or up to 2000 words of the novel (but don’t worry too much about word count going over, this is an approximate number of words). Please also send a short synopsis. Please submit in a Word or pdf document to submissions@guppybooks.co.uk during the Open Submission window only.
Writers who have been traditionally published in other genres are unfortunately not eligible. This competition is open to self-published authors. Please send your submission to submissions@guppybooks.co.uk during the specified dates only. Any entries sent before or after this time will not be counted. ONE SUBMISSION PER PERSON. At longlisting stage (late July) we will ask the longlistees for a nearly-finished/full novel to be sent.
Any other enquiries, please email submissions@guppybooks.co.uk.
We do not charge an entry fee, though we would invite all entrants to buy a book published by Guppy Books if they can (available from all bookshops and online retailers as well as the Guppy shop). We strive to be as open as we can and encourage all aspiring writers to apply.
A winner will be announced in the autumn of 2024, after whittling down to first a longlist and then a shortlist – please keep an eye on social media and the Guppy Books website for updates along the way. We hope to announce the longlist by end July.
All shortlisted authors will be offered an editorial meeting with Bella Pearson. The winner will be offered a contract with Guppy Books (with no obligation to accept).
GOOD LUCK!
Guppy Open Submission Update!
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted to our competition – we had well over 400 entries, which is amazing! We’ve been reading away and slowly whittling down to a longlist, which will be announced on TUESDAY 25th JULY. So do keep your eyes on the Guppy Twitter account and we’ll make sure the longlist is posted on here first thing.
The standard has been incredibly high this year and it has been such a pleasure to read so many good stories. And that makes our job of longlisting very hard indeed! I hope those of you who don’t make it on to the longlist are not too disappointed – and thank you again for entering.
The Guppy Open Submission competition for middle-grade writers is back!
In April, we were over the moon that Nadia Mikail’s YA novel, The Cats We Meet Along the Way, won the Waterstones Overall Children’s Book Prize 2023 – it was a huge accolade for Nadia and shows the great love that booksellers have for her beautifully original book. And it came from the very first Open Submission Competition we ran here at Guppy Books in 2020. It is an extraordinary novel and was chosen from nearly 400 submissions.
The winner of the 2021 middle-grade competition was the incredible James Dixon with The Billow Maiden which we published in 2022, a critically acclaimed and beautifully evocative novel, and 2022’s worthy winner Olivia Collard’s YA novel will be published by Guppy in spring 2024. Not before a runner-up in the 2021 competition, Carrie Sellon, has her book Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions, published in June this year by Guppy. All these talented writers submitted for this competition and we are very grateful that they did!
And now, we are throwing open the portholes again… Between 12th and 16th of June 2023, we ask all unpublished and unagented middle-grade writers to submit their novels for consideration in the competition. We strive to be as open as we can be with as few barriers to entry as possible, and encourage all aspiring writers to apply.
Please email your submission to submissions@guppybooks.co.uk between 9am GMT on Monday 12th June and 6pm GMT on Friday 16th June2023.
To submit, please include the first 2000 words of your middle-grade novel (or thereabouts – if it’s a bit less or more due to chapter breaks, that’s fine), plus a synopsis. Please don’t worry too much/spend much time on the synopsis – we want to see it in order to get a sense of what happens in your story, but your writing itself is much more important.
Please email as a Word document. ONE SUBMISSION PER PERSON. Any enquiries, please email submissions@guppybooks.co.uk.
A winner will be announced in the autumn of 2023, after whittling down to first a longlist and then a shortlist – please keep an eye on social media and the Guppy Books website for updates along the way.
All shortlisted authors will be offered an editorial meeting with Bella Pearson. The winner will be offered a contract with Guppy Books (with no obligation to accept).
We do not charge an entry fee, though we would invite all entrants to buy a book published by Guppy Books if they can (available from all bookshops and online retailers as well as the Guppy shop).
Nadia Mikail and THE CATS WE MEET ALONG THE WAY not only won the Waterstones Older Reader’s Prize but the overall children’s book prize!
We are SO thrilled that Nadia’s incredible debut novel, acquired during the pandemic in 2020 and published in February 2022, has won both the Waterstones Older Reader’s Prize 2023 and the Overall Children’s Prize! Incredible – and what a deserving winner Nadia is, having created a book that is both original, kind and beautiful in one go. Set against an apocalyptic backdrop, the story of Aisha and her family making amends during a roadtrip across Malaysia is not only a tender love story but also about mothers and daughters, about moving on from the pain of the past, and hoping for the future. Congratulations Nadia, we are so proud of you and so lucky to you be your publisher!
The Cats We Meet Along the Way shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Award!
We are over the moon that Nadia Mikail’s incredible book has been shortlisted for the Older Readers’ category of the Waterstones Children’s Book Award – what an accolade and so thoroughly deserved. The Waterstones Children’s Book Award is designed to support new writers and is chosen by the booksellers themselves, so it’s a very special one to be shortlisted for. Don’t miss this book! As one of the booksellers says: ‘A beautiful testament to family, friendships and what you choose to value when everything is ending. Think They Both Die at the End meets Jenny Downham.’
THE CATS WE MEET ALONG THE WAY IS LONGLISTED FOR THE BRANFORD BOASE AWARD!
The Branford Boase Award is unusual in that it celebrates the role of the editor as well as the author. It is awarded to a debut author and their editor – and we’re thrilled that CATS has been longlisted. This moving and thrilling YA novel about a family mending themselves before the imminent ending of the world has had such a wonderful response from readers, and it is so good to see it getting the recognition it deserves. Congratulations to Nadia and Bella! You can order it here.
GUPPY OPEN SUBMISSION COMPETITION 2022 WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
We are thrilled to announce that OLIVIA COLLARD and her fantastically funny, bonkers, original novel NOT WITH A BANG has won the 2022 Open Submission Competition!
And the worth 2022 runner-up is HANNAH EKEKWE with the emotionally truthful and utterly engaging GUM.
The judges and I agreed that these two novels were so strong and so impressive – NOT WITH A BANG is fierce and intelligent, and made us all laugh out loud, impressing us with its zing, originality and glee; GUM carried us along on an emotional journey with such a strong and compelling young adult voice. Two budding authors of the future to watch out for… congratulations to both Olivia and Hannah!
A huge thanks to the panel of judges: Linda Sargent and Adamma Okonkwo, two brilliant editorial brains who have judged this competition for three years now; Caroline Fielding, librarian extraordinaire (and ex-Carnegie judge) and Peter Simmonds, bookseller at The Bookshop on the Green and creative writing student. Their contributions have been invaluable, and I’m very grateful to them all.
And thank you to all the shortlistees for their brilliance and also their patience during the judging process.
Two stunning titles out in October!
We are proud to be publishing two very different but equally brilliant books this month – firstly Ghostlight, an upper middle-grade/early teen thriller, perfect for those who love Ghostbusters or Stranger Things – a fast-paced ghost story that will have readers on the edge of their seats! And Louisa Reid’s latest verse novel, a stunning and essential novel tackling the subject of sexual abuse and what can be done about it – unmissable.
‘With a high-stakes premise, harrowing growing pains and moments as chilling as midnight ocean spray, Oppel plays his readers’ nerves like an out-of-tune harp’ New York Times
‘An exceptional story of courage and faith.’ Lovereading October Book of the Month and Staff Pick
‘A raw, unflinching verse novel for 14+ filled with white-hot, justified rage.’ Guardian
AVAILABLE IN ALL BOOKSHOPS OR DIRECT FROM GUPPY THROUGH THE SHOP
GUPPY OPEN SUBMISSION – shortlist announced!
It has been an extremely difficult job, but we have whittled the longlist down to a fabulous shortlist of eleven. Thank you so much to all who submitted such a dazzling array of stories – they were all such a high standard and hugely enjoyable to read. Now it’s the judges turn to agree on a winner – watch this space for more news in the autumn…
The shortlisted authors and their books are, in no particular order:
Hannah Ekekwe, GUM
J L Bleakley, EVERMIST
Catharine Johnson, SACRIFICE
Mel Green, CONTROLLERS
Olivia Collard, NOT WITH A BANG
Jonathan Sellars, THINGS HARRY OLIVER KNOWS
Tasmia Tahia, UP, RISING
Monique Turner, THE ISLAND OF INFLUENCERS
Ellen Haggan, THE WATCHERS
Charlotte Comley, POOKA
Sammy Chen, AND ALL SIMILAR THINGS
Huge congratulations to these eleven fabulous writers!
Announcing the Guppy YA Open Submissions Longlist 2022!
In May 2022, Guppy Books opened its portholes for unpublished and unagented young adult writers – and we had an amazing response! With around 220 entries, it was exhilarating to see the talent and creativity demonstrated. We have managed, with difficulty, to whittle down the entries to a longlist of 24, as listed below.
Hello everyone,
Thank you so much for sending in your entry for Guppy’s open submission window. I was so impressed with the standard of writing, the original ideas and the incredible energy that went into all the submissions. It was a hard task to choose the longlist, and it’ll be harder still to choose the shortlist. I’d also like to say thank you to six graduates of Oxford Brookes who provided some invaluable help.
Huge congratulations to those who made the longlist! You will hear more about the next stages individually by email.
For those who didn’t make it:during my career, I have said no to SO many books that have gone on to do great things; so if you don’t find yourself on this list I hope you don’t feel too disappointed. It was a pleasure to read all the submissions; the standard of writing this year was particularly high, and I was really impressed with the level and commitment to writing for young adults. If you didn’t get through, please take heart – there were so many that very nearly did and it was a tough choice.
Thank you again for your participation.
With all best wishes
Bella Pearson
Publisher Guppy Books
GUPPY OPEN SUBMISSION LONGLIST 2022
In no particular order:
Sorrel Shamel-Wood OFF TRACK
Aerin Apeltun TWELVE COFFINS, SEVEN LILIES
Hazel Compton THE DROWNING TOWN
Charlotte Teeple-Salas CHIMERA MOON
Jo Baker CITY OF DARK INK
Sammy Chen AND ALL SIMILAR THINGS
J L Bleakley EVERMIST
A D Stuart FIRST LOVE CAN BE MURDER
Lou Renn CLICK
Rebecca Perkin HALF UNDONE
Catharine Johnson SACRIFICE
Jonathan Sellars THINGS HARRY OLIVER KNOWS
Ellen Haggan THE WATCHERS
Bibi Anisah Mohamoodally NO ORDINARY GIRL
Olivia Collard NOT WITH A BANG
Tasmia Tahia UP, RISING
Mel Green Controllers
Julie Farrell We are Fractals
Hannah Ekekwe Gum
Monique Turner The Island of Influencers
Jo Howard Legal Walls
Andrea Hutchinson One in Fire
Charlotte Comley, Pooka
A NEW LOUISA REID NOVEL IS ON THE WAY!
We are over the moon to be announcing the publication of a new young adult verse novel by the acclaimed Louisa Reid – ACTIVIST. This is a stunning, powerful and hard-hitting tale of hidden abuse, secrets and lies set in a secondary school, out on October 12th 2022.
Artwork by Yuzhen Cai, designed by Ness Wood
Louisa says of the book:
In June 2020 when survivors of rape culture began to tell their stories via the website, Everyone’s Invited, I, like many, was aghast. How in the 21st century were young people being failed so badly by their society? I channelled the anger I was feeling into writing my latest verse novel, Activist. The title of the novel makes it clear that this is a story about rising up. I’ve seen first-hand the incredible force for good that our young people are; their energy, empathy, resilience and creativity are a continued source of amazement and inspiration. I wanted to ensure this story showcased the determination with which young activists are ready to challenge the multiple inequalities of our world. As Cassie, my brave and bold protagonist says: the war’s not won. But with characters like the activists I have imagined ready to stand up and fight, I truly hope it could be.
We are also reissuing her first two Guppy novels, with a brand new matching cover look: Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week and Empathy Day Book, GLOVES OFF.
Artwork Yuzhen Cai, design Ness Wood
And court-based drama and 2022 Empathy Day book, WRECKED.
