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!
What winning has meant for Jasbinder Bilan
Children’s author Jasbinder Bilan won The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2017 with her debut, Asha and the Spirit Bird. Since winning the prize, Jasbinder has written 10 books, won the Costa Children’s Book Award, and has built a full and brilliant career as a children’s author.
Ever inspired by Jasbinder and her passion for storytelling, we caught up with her to chat about The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, how she writes now, and what’s coming next …
Asha and the Spirit Bird won the competition in 2017 – that’s now 8 years ago! How has life changed for you since winning the prize?
Winning the prize changed everything! It made my childhood dream of becoming a published author come true. The biggest change is probably that I am now lucky enough to write full time.
Did you ever anticipate Asha and the Spirit Bird being the catalyst for this career as an author?
I put so much effort and hard work into writing Asha, but I honestly never dared to believe it might lead to an actual career. There are so many other great books out there, so the fact that Asha started my writing journey brings me such happiness.
Is there anything about the book that you’d change now, 8 years on?
When you write your first book, you have the luxury of time on your side and the opportunity to experiment – so by the time I entered it for the competition, I had tried all sorts of different scenes. And I also had the wonderful Kesia Lupo as my editor so I wouldn't change anything, actually!
How has your writing process evolved since writing Asha and the Spirit Bird? Do you still work in the same way, or have you made changes along the way?
The one thing that has changed in my writing process is that I have less time for the early stages of creativity. I used to have more time to be playful and use my sketchbook to collect inspirations. However, I think I have become better at holding the story in my head and editing as I go.
What upcoming projects are you excited about? (This can be anything, it doesn’t have to be Chicken House related!)
Since publishing Asha, I have had so many wonderful opportunities to work collaboratively so I hope I can do more of those. But I’m getting really excited about what I’ll write next for Chicken House. I have six books under my belt with Chicken House, and they’ve all been different so I can’t wait to see where my inspirations will take me!
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to writers considering entering the prize this year?
There’s an awful lot of noise out there, and sometimes I think that can be overwhelming and also make you doubt the book that sits in your heart. So I’d say write your story, make it the best you can, and press send!
A big thank you to Jasbinder for answering our questions. To be in with a chance at winning the 2025 iteration of The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, please take a look at our submissions page. We can’t wait to read what you’re creating!
