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The Winners of the Times CH Children’s Fiction Competition 2025!
Wow, what a BLAST! We had an amazing time yesterday at our Big Breakfast event, which hosted the Times/Chicken House Competition judging panel AND announced the winners!
The fantastic judging panel consisted of chairman and publisher Barry Cunningham, The Times reporter and children’s book critic Lucy Bannerman, Co-Head of Kids and Family at Lime Pictures, Tim Compton, agent Gyamfia Osei, acclaimed children’s author Chris Smith, Sunday Times bestselling author and content creator Lucy Jane Wood, literary scout Kai Spellmeier, Waterstones key buyer Lucy Jakes and Bounce export sales representative Sarah Wallis-Newman.
They provided some fantastic and thoughtful feedback, a huge 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 overall prize, the Times/Chicken House children’s fiction award – the prize of which is a £10,000 publishing contract and the discussion of agent representation – was won by Shefali Kharabanda and her novel, The Less-Than-Perfect Life of Jaya Kapoor!
The Less-Than-Perfect Life of Jaya Kapoor follows Jaya as she joins an independent school in an affluent part of Birmingham and struggles to fit in. Kharabanda’s witty humour and the heart-warming characters won the judges over.
The Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award, awarded to the novel which shows the greatest TV development potential, was won by Marianna Shek and The Wrangler’s Daughter. Marianna wins a £7,500 publishing contract and the discussion of representation from agent Gyamfia Osei.
Described by judge Chris Smith as an ‘breath-taking’, The Wrangler’s Daughter is an epic sci-fi time travelling adventure that follows Ada as she journeys through time on her Chronobear to find her missing father. Judges were impressed by the originality and world-building of this wild read.
HUGE congratulations to both winners - we are all looking forward to working with you here at the Coop!
Congratulations, too, to the rest of our shortlist for reaching the final six – the judges had a tough time deciding on the final two! We’ll be providing all of you with detailed feedback based on the panel’s thoughts.
The competition will be re-opening soon for 2026 entries - watch this space for more information.
Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok for the latest tips and tricks for entering!
