The 2025 longlist of The Diverse Book Awards were announced, and these are a great selection of diverse reads that you should definitely check out!

Created by award-winning author Abiola Bello and award-winning publicist Helen Lewis and co-founders of The Author School, this award aims to highlight the best of the diverse voices published in the UK & Ireland, this year focusing on those published during 2024, both traditionally and self-published. And just like last year, the DBAs is giving readers a chance to vote for their favorites with The Readers” Choice Awards. Click on the link to start voting for your favorites!

The shortlist will be announced on September 8 and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in October. And now without further ado, here is the longlist:

All links will lead to either Bookshop.org or Waterstones. If you purchase through the links, this blog will receive a commission.

Picture Book

A Fairy Called Fred by Robert Tregoning and illustrated by Stef Murphy

Fred the fairy works at a Wish-Granting Plant – and when he’s finally given his very first wish to grant, he wants to get it right!

Josh only has one wish. He’s been invited to a princess party . . . and he needs a dress to wear!
With time ticking and the party approaching, it’s up to Fred to conjure up the PERFECT outfit, and make sure that Josh is the very best-dressed princess. Can Fred make this little boy’s wish come true, and prove himself in the process? (Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)

Priya Mistry and the Paw Prints Puzzle by Babita Sharma and illustrated by Ali Pye

Introducing Priya Mistry – corner shop super sleuth! She’s a Mistry by name, and mysteries are her game.

When some puzzling paw prints appear on the floor of her family’s corner shop, Priya grabs her mission kit and kicks off an investigation. Can Priya crack the case and uncover the mysterious creature before it eats all the food in the shop?

This is a fantastically fun and mischievously mysterious picture book that is perfect for little detectives! (Credit: Hachette Children’s Group)

Aqua Boy by Ken Wilson-Max (Otter-Barry Books)
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin)
Grandma’s Locs by Karen Arthur, illustrated by Camilla Ru (Tate Publishing)
Mama Car by Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Faber)
Me and My Hair by Kimberley Kinloch, illustrated by Jessica Gibson (Usborne Publishing)
My Name is a Gift by Zeshan Akhter, Åsa Gilland (Templar Books)
Olu’s Teacher: A Story About Starting Nursery by Jamel C. Campbell, illustrated by Lydia Mba (Walker Books)
Pearl and her Bunch by Momoko Abe (Orchard Books)
Strong Like Me by Kelechi Okafor, illustrated by Michaela Dias-Hayes (Puffin)
The Boy Who Loves to Lick the Wind by Fiona Carswell, illustrated by Yu Rong (Otter-Barry Books)
The Language of Flowers by Shyala Smith, illustrated by Aaron Asis (Lantana Publishing)
Until You Find the Sun by Maryam Hassan, illustrated by Anna Wilson (Hodder Children’s Books)

Children

The Super Sunny Murder Club edited by Robin Stevens and Serena Patel

A collection of sizzling summer-themed crime and mystery stories by thirteen of the most popular, exciting and diverse children’s book authors!

Co-edited by Serena Patel, the award-winning author of the Anisha: Accidental Detective series and by Robin Stevens, author of the bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series.

This gorgeous summery collection brings back together thirteen bestselling, award-winning and exciting authors: Abiola Bello, Annabelle Sami, Benjamin Dean, E.L. Norry, Elle McNicoll, Dominique Valente, Maisie Chan, Nizrana Farook, Patrice Lawrence, Robin Stevens, Roopa Farooki, Serena Patel and Sharna Jackson. With stunning illustrations by Harry Woodgate.

Grab your sunnies and your magnifying glass, and join the Murder Club for more sensational short stories as they lead you on a journey of foul play and murderously magnificent mysteries! This is the perfect holiday entertainment and collection to pack in every young reader’s holiday bag! (Credit: HarperCollins)

Birdie by J P Rose

Birdie Bagshaw has never known her parents. Having grown up in a children’s home for mixed race children in 1950s Leeds, now she has come to live with her great-aunt in the Yorkshire Dales. From her arrival, Birdie is treated like an outsider by the local children. When their bullying drives Birdie to hide in the nearby coal mine, she finds an unexpected rescuer in the form of Mr Duke, the last remaining pit pony in the village. As the weeks pass, Birdie forms a special bond with the spirited little pony. But his future is in danger, and Birdie comes up with a daring plan to save his life in return . . .(Credit: Andersen Press)

Alyssa and the Spell Garden by Alexandra Sheppard (Faber)
Bobby Bains Plays a Blinder by Bali Rai, illustrated by Daniel Duncan (Barrington Stoke)
Bringing Back Kay-Kay by Dev Kothari (Walker Books)
Mayowa and the Sea of Words by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The Boy Who Fell from the Sky by Benjamin Dean (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
The Cheat Book (Vol. 1) by RAMZEE (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt (Usborne)
The Nine Night Mystery by Sharna Jackson (Puffin)
The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief by Claire Linney (Self-published)
We are Family: Six Kids and a Super-Dad! by Oliver Sykes, illustrated by Ian Morris (Otter-Barry Books)
When I Feel Red by Lily Bailey (Orion Children’s Books)

Teen & Young Adult

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

After being home-schooled, Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. Misfortune has been a constant companion throughout her life, but even she doesn’t expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls known as the Unholy Trinity. Between learning more about them—especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to—and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But the police are hardly looking into what happened to Elizabeth, so it’s up to her and Elizabeth’s best friend, Baz, to investigate.

And then a student is found dead.

As Sade and Baz try to make sense of it all, she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…Secrets that rival even her own.(Credit Feiwel & Friends)

Desi Girl Speaking by A.S. Hussain

Tweety is struggling.

Battling depression and faced with parents and friends who don’t fully understand what’s happening, sixteen-year-old Tweety feels like no one is listening and there’s nowhere to turn to. Until she stumbles across Desi Girl Speaking, a podcast by someone else who’s struggling too.

Through episodes and exchanged emails, Tweety and Desi Girl begin to confide in each other, but as Tweety’s depression deepens, she’ll have to decide whether to stay silenced or use her voice to speak up.

A powerful and compassionate novel about mental health and hope, for readers of Yasmin Rahman, Muhammad Khan and Danielle Jawando.(Credit: Hot Key Books)

Damien Ike and the Fallen House of Draven by Dee Benson and David Arlo (Hot Key Books)
Dancers of the Dawn by Zulekhá A. Afzal (Rock the Boat)
I Never Shall Fall in Love by Hari Conner (Simon & Schuster)
If My Words Had Wings by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)
King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books)
Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll (First Ink)
The Big Ask by Simon James Green (Barrington Stoke)
The Boy Next Door by Jenny Ireland (Penguin Random House Children’s)
The Thread That Connects Us by Ayaan Mohamud (Usborne)
The Love Interest by Helen Comerford (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence (Penguin Random House Children’s)

Adult

Vengeance by Saima Mir

Jia Khan must fight to stay on top when secrets from the past are revealed. From the bestselling author of The Times and Guardian Crime Novel of the Year.

For two years, Jia Khan has been running her late father’s organised crime business in the north of England. So far, her authority has remained unchallenged, but now things are beginning to unravel.

When she finds her father’s notebook recounting his arrival from Pakistan in the 1970s, it awakes an old family feud that could have devastating repercussions for Jia. And worst of all, one of her staff lies brutally slain, his corpse displayed provocatively in her garden despite her sophisticated security.

Someone is getting dangerously close. Could there be a traitor in Jia Khan’s trusted inner circle? (Credit: Oneworld Publications)

Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain

It’s 1981 in the suburbs of Blackburn and, as Rafi’s mother reminds him daily, the family moved here from Pakistan to give him the best opportunities. But Rafi longs to follow his own path. Flamboyant, dramatic and musically gifted, he wants to be a Bollywood star.

Twenty years later, Rafi is flying home from Australia for his best friend’s wedding. He has everything he ever wanted: starring roles in musical theatre, the perfect boyfriend and freedom from expectation. But returning to Blackburn is the ultimate test: can he show his true self to his community?

Navigating family and identity from boyhood to adulthood, as well as the changing eras of ABBA, skinheads and urbanisation, Rafi must follow his heart to achieve his dreams. (Credit: Boundless Publishing Group Ltd)