Coventry Inspiration Book Awards 2026

Find out more about the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards

Welcome to the 21st year of the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards. There are five categories of books to choose from for children and young people aged 4 to 18. Each category has 8 books to read and enjoy. You can comment on the books you have read and vote for your favourite one.

The books were shortlisted by a panel of specialist children’s librarians and teachers and reflect a wide range of genres and styles. For every book, you will find links to the authors and publishers websites as well as a list of recommended reads so if you like a particular book you can see if there are similar books you might like to try. If you would like to order your sets of books then please download the order forms and return them to SLS or just email sls@coventry.gov.uk.

The voting will start in January and the book evictions will take place on the following dates:

• Monday 26 January - First book is voted off
• Monday 2 February – Second book is voted off
• Monday 9 February – Third book is voted off
• Half term
• Monday 23 February – Fourth book is voted off
• Monday 2 March – Fifth book is voted off leaving us with the final 3 books
• Wednesday 11 March – Winners announced

Why take part in the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards?

Research shows that Reading for Pleasure not only improves all-round attainment in school including in maths but also increases empathy skills and improves mental wellbeing.

Multiple studies suggest that enjoyment is associated with higher reading performance.20 The recent 2021 PIRLS data for England showed that the pupils who said they liked reading the most scored, on average, 34 points more than those who said they did not like reading.21 In effect, pupils who are reading regularly for enjoyment give themselves unofficial reading lessons, supporting their reading comprehension. From the new Reading Framework (DFE, July 2023)

The Coventry Inspiration Book Awards are the ideal way to get more of your students to read for pleasure. But don't take our word for it, here are some of the comments made by students who have taken part in the Book Awards. 

Book Awards has drawn me more into reading

The book awards have encouraged me to read more...

The Book Awards are a great way to find new books to read

Every book was amazing and has inspired me to read

I loved the quiz because of the excitement and the books were amazing!

Each of the carefully selected shortlists have been tailored to the specific needs of each of the targeted age groups and cover a wide range of genres and styles to help children find the right book for them. Taking part in the Book Awards is about more than just reading and voting for the books. It’s about being part of a wider reading community across the city.

We also run a couple of events as part of the Book Awards to increase engagement, the Hooked on Books quiz and the Celebration Event held at the end of June when we invite all of the winning authors and illustrators to come along and receive their awards from the children who have been voting for their books.

If you want to see how taking part in the Book Awards across your school can engage pupils in reading for pleasure then please watch the Celebration video from a previous Book Awards where you can see how Cannon Park Primary school used the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards to inspire all of their children to read and enjoy books and the impact it has had on the reading culture in the school.

CIBA 2025 celebration event

In June we had our wonderful celebration event which all of the winning authors were invited to attend and receive their awards from the children and young people who voted for them. All of the participating schools were invited and we had an amazing afternoon with all of the presentations created and delivered by the students who then had an opportunity to meet the authors and illustrators. 

Susannah Lloyd author of the hilarious book 'Who are Steve?' winner of the What's the Story category.

Nikesh Shukla author of the 'Council of good friends' was thrilled to win the Telling Tales category.

Alastair Chisholm author of the Hooked on Books winning book 'I am Wolf' telling everyone about how he created the book.

Fans of 'Girl, Goddess, Queen' winner of the Simply the Book category from Bishop Ullathorne School tell everyone why they voted it to win.

Students from Caludon Castle performed their own short play based on a scene from 'Girl, Goddess, Queen' much to the delight of the author Bea Fitzgerald who had joined us to collect her award.

Winning authors Nikesh Shukla, Susannah Lloyd, Alastair Chisholm and Bea Fitzgerald after being presented with their awards by the children and young people of Coventry.

Hooked on Books Quiz

The Hooked on books quiz has themed rounds of questions all based on that shortlist of 8 books, so the more you have read the better your chances! It is always a fun afternoon with teams from Primary and Secondary schools pitted against each other and great book prizes to be won. 

The date and time of this year's quiz will be announced later on this term but it is normally held at the beginning of March in the same week as World Book Day.

Each team is made up of 4 students and schools can have a maximum of 2 teams. It is free to take part and if you want to book a place for your team/s then email sls@coventry.gov.uk 

Poster and bookmarks

The posters and bookmarks for the CIBA 2026 awards will be sent out to all schools who have purchased one of the shortlists, but they are available to download if you wish to print more yourself. We also have the CIBA logo available and the primary shortlist and secondary shortlist so you can if you wish print them off and make your own Coventry Inspiration Book Awards display in your library or classroom.