Best Children’s Picture Book 2022

Entries are invited for our children’s picture book competition (text only), up to 500 words.

Prizes

Top 10 Shortlisted Entries

Your story included in The Winners’ Collection, which is sent to literary agents and publishers to help your work get noticed.

Your story and biography included in our Winners’ Gallery on the Searchlight Awards’ website, which agents, publishers, friends and family can access.

Your story included in our annual Searchlight Awards’ Anthology, which features the best entries from all our competitions in the last year.

First Prize

All the above, with your story recognised as the Competition Winner, plus £500 in Cash.

Key Information

Submissions from 1^st March 2022 to 22^nd August 2022, midnight UK time

Judge: Kayleigh Keam, BBC Children’s Writer & Director, CBeebies Bedtime Stories Book Reviewer

Word limit: 500 words, not including the title

Entry fee per story: £9

Results published: 27^th January 2023

Please read the rules below before entering the competition

Read the Rules

Our Judge

Kayleigh is judging our Best Children’s Picture Book 2022 competition

Enter Now

This competition is now closed.

Competition Information

There are three rounds of reading and judging. The first is undertaken by our dedicated Searchlight Awards’ founder, Kim Donovan. Stories are then allocated to a team of experts in children’s writing, all with recognised qualifications and experience in Writing for Young People/Creative Writing, who carry out the second round of reading and decide the best 20 entries for the longlist.

In the last round, a guest judge reads all 20 stories, chooses the top 10 entries for the shortlist and an overall winner.

Here are some of the things our judges will be looking for:

Originality or an unusual twist
Writing craft
Distinctive voice
Memorable
Whether it could be enjoyed over and over again
Appealing to both a parent and young child

Your story must be suitable for a young child.
Your story must not exceed the 500 word limit, not including the title. Illustration notes are not included in the word count but please keep them to a minimum.

Text only. No artwork.
Your story should be double-spaced, a size 12 font, and submitted as a doc, docx or PDF file.
Begin your story with the title. Please don’t include any other identifying information on the file, such as your name, as stories are read blind.
Entries need to be in English.
Multiple entries are permitted. However, we require a separate entry form and a new payment each time.
Stories cannot be altered after they are submitted. Refunds are not given if a story is withdrawn.
Entrants must be 16 years and over.
Stories must be previously unpublished. However, self-published picture books are eligible.
Entries from authors worldwide are welcome.
Entries must be the work of the entrant.
While entrants retain full copyright, by entering the Best Children’s Picture Book 2022 competition you give permission, if shortlisted, for us to publish your name, photograph, biography and the title of your winning story on the Searchlight Awards’ website.
By entering the Best Children’s Picture Book 2022 competition you give permission, if shortlisted, for us to publish a short extract of your story on our website, the full story in our annual printed Anthology (publication date: 2023) and the Winners’ Collection, which will be sent to UK literary agents and publishers. If you do not wish to have your story published you may opt out on the entry form.
The decision of the readers and judges is final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding judging. We are unable to provide individual feedback.
The competition organisers have the right to change the judge.
Results will be posted on the Searchlight Awards’ website and winners will be emailed on 27^th January 2023.
By entering the Best Children’s Picture Book 2022 competition, entrants agree to these rules.