2026 Winners

TPBP Frederick Forsyth Fiction Award Winner

Ash and the Faceless Man

By D. Michelle Gent, published by Gingernut Books Ltd.

TPBP Non-Fiction Award Winner

A Groundhog Career

By Dr. Helmut Schuster & Dr. David Oxley, published by Practical Inspiration Publishing

TPBP Children’s Literature Award Winner

2026 CHILDREN'S LITERATURE winner announcement

Augmented

By Kenechi Udogu, published by Faber & Faber

TPBP Beryl Bainbridge First Time Author Award Winner

2026 FIRST-TIME AUTHOR winner announcement (1)

Mockers

By Will Grimsey, published by Filament Publishing Ltd.

TPBP Best Achievement Award Winner

2026 BEST ACHIEVEMENT winner announcement

Eamonn the Bat

By Molly Arbuthnott, published by Candy Jar Books

TPBP Best Publisher Award Winner

Bloomsbury Sport

BLOOMSBURY SPORT PUBLISHERS merit this distinguished accolade for their unwavering commitment to athletes and authors alike, championing sporting voices with rare consistency, discernment and grace – as shown with their entry this year THE ACCIDENTAL TOUR-IST (Final) Dispatches from the Road by NED BOULTING.

Year after year, they have enriched the literary landscape by entering biographies and autobiographies of exceptional calibre, ensuring that stories of endeavour, resilience, triumph and humanity reach the broad readership they deserve.

Their catalogue preserves the narratives behind sporting achievement, bringing readers closer to the personalities who inspire them. Through encouragement and meticulous editorial care, they have helped athletes and writers cultivate devoted followings, transforming personal histories into works of lasting public interest.

BLOOMSBURY SPORT continues to invest in substance, excellence and the power of authentic storytelling, standing as custodians of sports publishing and valued supporters of talent in all its forms.

2026 SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT winner announcement

TPBP Special Achievement Award Winner

Christina Gabbitas, Poems and Pictures for Listen Up

This year the Directors of The People’s Book Prize have decided to award a SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Award to LISTEN UP! – a compilation of 45 poems by young people published by POEMS AND PICTURES LTD publisher and author CHRISTINA GABBITAS. Her vision has united creativity, safeguarding literature with lived reality, and education with prevention.

Through sustained partnerships with police forces in North Yorkshire, Humberside and beyond, Christina has helped deliver workshops in schools warning children about exploitation and criminal grooming, using storytelling and poetry as tools of protection and hope.

Thousands of young people have engaged with these initiatives, demonstrating that books can do more than entertain —they can intervene, inform, and save lives.

TPBP first Special Achievement recognises Christina’s (POEMS AND PICTURES) gathering of so many emerging writers into one meaningful volume, while directing proceeds to support children through NSPCC Childline, is an achievement of rare public value.

Listen Up! deserves this Special Award also for its young authors, whose words carry truth and bravery, and for the publisher whose imagination and determination has brought forth something genuinely exceptional.

All Finalists