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And the winners of the 2022 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition are …

Yesterday was a very exciting day for the Chickens – not only did we throw our first Big Breakfast event since the pandemic (in which we introduced our industry pals to our 2023 authors) but we also hosted the Times/Chicken House Competition judging panel … AND announced the winners!

I was lucky enough to sit in on the judges’ meeting and hear the fantastic, thoughtful feedback from our panel, which consisted of chairman and publisher Barry Cunningham, The Times Arts Editor Alex O’Connell, author and YouTuber Lucy Powrie, author Patrice Lawrence, literary scout Rosalind Ramsay and Bookseller Sanchita Basu de Sarkar. Thank you to each one of our judges for their time and attention on our six shortlisted manuscripts – you are all stars!

Well, the time has come …

DRUMROLL PLEASE!

The winner of the Times/Chicken House Competition 2022 is …

Sarah Harrison with EDDIE’S DEMONS

And the winner of the Chairman’s Choice Prize is …

Jess Popplewell with ALL HELL

Many congratulations to you both – we can’t wait to start working with you on your stories!

Congratulations, too, to the rest of our shortlist for reaching the final six – any two of you were capable of winning and debate among the judges was very healthy! We’ll be providing all of you with detailed feedback based on the panel’s thoughts.

Watch this space for details of the 2023 competition, which we’re planning to open in December.