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The HarperCollins Reading for Pleasure Awards 2024 in partnership with The Open University and UK Literacy Association

Patron: Michael Morpurgo, Children’s Author

Guest judge: Hannah Gold, Children’s Author

The awards are growing!  This year, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Collins and Barrington Stoke have joined Farshore. Together, we want to recognise and celebrate those teachers, schools and educators that successfully promote and encourage children’s reading for pleasure, both within and beyond the school setting.

Enter now for an opportunity to be recognised by experts in children’s reading for pleasure.

Award Categories

  • Early Career Teacher (0-3 years in teaching)
  • Experienced Teacher (3 years plus)
  • Whole School
  • School Reading Champion (e.g., Librarians/other educators)
  • Community Reading Champion (immediate and/or wider community, from local area to local authority)
  • The HarperCollins Author’s Choice Award is chosen by the guest judge as their personal favourite and will win a virtual visit from that author

Past winner, Sonia Thompson, says:

“The beauty of taking part in these awards is not only the chance to win £250 worth of books but, and more importantly to me, teachers have the opportunity to leave a legacy of best reading for pleasure practices. That legacy will support other teachers to raise the profile of evidence-informed reading for pleasure, across a range of communities. Now that is certainly worth an entry!“

Sonia Thompson, Headteacher/Director, St. Matthew’s C.E. Primary Research and Support School, Birmingham

How to enter:

Submit a research-informed case study on how children have been encouraged to read for pleasure. It’s important to show context and the research that has inspired you.

Show your rationale, aims, outline of what you did, evidence of impact and finally your reflections.

Submission

Awards

Winners will be announced at the OU/UKLA Reading for Pleasure conference on Saturday 15th June 2024 in Milton Keynes.

Each category winner will receive for their school:

  • Books to the value of £250.
    • Winners can choose the books they want from our extensive range at Farshore, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Collins and Barrington Stoke. 
  • 20 copies of Help Your Child Love Reading by Alison David
  • Winners also receive a trophy and framed certificate

This Year’s Judges

  • Joy Court, Co-founder: All Around Reading
  • Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education, The Open University
  • Alison David, Consumer Insight Director, Farshore
  • Fiona Evans, Dir. of School Programmes, National Literary Trust
  • Cally Poplak, Executive Publisher, HCCB and Farshore
  • David Reedy, UK Literacy Association
  • Hannah Gold, Children’s Author

Top Tips from the Judges:

  • Follow the guidance.
  • Don’t go over the word count! Your submission will not be considered if you do.
  • Select photos carefully, choosing only those that demonstrate your work.

HarperCollins collaborates with the Open University and the UK Literacy Association, who work together to research the significance of teachers being readers and identify ways to build reciprocal and interactive communities of readers. Both organizations are keen to profile and develop research-informed professional practice in this area.