The Panel
Every round is judged by a small panel: Kevin Tan, who runs the competition, and two guest judges who change each round. Real teachers, librarians and writers, named here.
This round
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How the judging works
Every story is read and scored against our four published criteria, weighted equally: Voice, Story, Detail and Craft. The full criteria are here.
The final ten stories, three from each age band plus one overall winner, are chosen by that round's judging panel, named above. The people whose names are on this page are the people who choose the book.
Past panels
Join the panel
Are you a teacher, librarian, writer or someone who cares about children finding their voice on the page? We invite two guest judges each round, and we would love to hear from you.
Get in touch