The Cambridge Literary Festival returns this week with a host of brilliant writers and unmissable conversations. As part of this year’s Children’s Festival, 2026 also sees the launch of the very first Children’s Choice Award.
The aim of the award is to focus on children’s reading, encouraging them to act as judges and inspiring entire classes from various schools to read the same books.
The festival has invited pupils from three partner schools—Arbury Primary, Milton Road Primary, and Ridgeway Primary—to read books by selected authors participating in this year’s festival.
These schools received 10 copies of each book, and students had two months to read them. They were encouraged to share their feedback with teachers, leading up to a final vote to choose the best book.
Teachers participating report being overwhelmed by the excitement in their classrooms, as children opt to read the books during quiet times and discuss their thoughts about the books with peers on the playground.
During the National Year of Reading, it has been a great success in inspiring children not only to read but also to share their enthusiasm and encourage others to read as well.
The festival has announced that the winner of the 2026 Children’s Choice Award, as voted for by 80+ local Cambridge children, is Louie Stowell’s Loki! A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good.
Representatives from each school were invited to present the prize to the winning author, Louie Stowell, before her talk about the book at the Children’s Festival on Saturday, 25 April.
The runners-up for the award were “Become a Genius in a Year” by Mike Rampton and “History’s Most Epic Fails” by Athena Kugblenu.
To celebrate the UK’s National Year of Reading, the festival has partnered with the Go All In campaign to address the reading crisis among children and young people.
The free children’s programme is back, featuring a new dedicated Children’s Zone with storytelling, crafts, and activities all weekend.
The Cambridge Literary Festival’s Spring Festival 2026 takes place from today (Wednesday, 22nd April) through Sunday, 26th April.
