Bolton Children’s Fiction Award Celebration Day 2026 | News

April 1st 2026

The sun shone on the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award (BCFA) 2026 Celebration Day for a morning celebrating books and reading! A programme of activities for the event was centred around presentations from two of the shortlisted authors: James Fox and Sophie Kirtley.

The celebration was well-attended, with keen readers from 15 local school gathering at Bolton School where they joined Year 6 pupils from Bolton School’s Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ Schools and pupils from Bolton School’s Girls’ and Boys’ Division who had read and reviewed the three shortlisted titles.

The day started with an address from Ms Bradford Keegan, Bolton School’s Foundation Head of Educational Research and Innovation. She invited pupils to talk to their neighbour about the book they were currently reading and why they would recommend it. The enthusiasm in the room was palpable as pupils discussed their books and it was good to see teachers and Librarians joining the discussion too. Ms Bradford-Keegan also spoke about the importance of reading as a skill and reading pleasure in this National Year of Reading.

This was followed by a short video from the third shortlisted author, Chibundu Onuzo. Though she was unable to attend, the audience enjoyed a “jump up” game based on her book!

The gathered pupils then split into two groups to enjoy sessions with the two attending authors, who had battled their way through wind, snow and train cancellations the previous day to get to Bolton.

James Fox spoke about the issues faced by the main characters Solo and Morag in his debut novel ‘The Boy in the Suit’ and how the unique premise of the book was inspired by a series of newspaper articles – fertile ground for author inspiration. He told the audience about Dr Rudine Sims Bishop’s theory of books as mirrors or as windows. Pupils were delighted to have the chance to win signed copies of his latest book ‘Boy Versus Reality’. The end of the presentation included an outline of the book, which is about a family who live their lives on social media and considers the effects on the central character, Ethan, who is uncomfortable with that – a very timely topic as the impact of social media on teens has featured widely in the news recently.

The second shortlisted author, Sophie Kirtley, grew up in the countryside and on the beaches of Northen Ireland and the scenery and traditions of storytelling feature strongly in her books. Her book ‘The Haunting of Fortune Farm’ features ghosts, mysterious hidden objects and the malevolent presence of an ancient Viking warrior. She started by inviting the audience to shut their eyes and envisage their own spooky setting. There were a wide range of suggestions such as an abandoned soft play centre, a hospital and a windswept cliff top. After showing the room a tin packed with objects, found hidden in her granny’s house and which are included in the book, she asked the audience to imagine an object in that place and to hold it up. Again, there were a fascinating array of imagined items for the children to feature in their own storytelling. Sophie also got the audience to build up a sound wave which created a ghostly atmosphere in the Great Hall!

The Celebration Day ended with activities based on the three books. Children also have the opportunity to buy books and have them signed by the authors.

Sophie Kirtley said: “What a lovely day that was! Thank you for making our day, as authors, so special and for making everything so smooth logistically. The children who attended were just wonderful and it was brilliant to see so much joy, excitement and engagement with books and reading.”

After such a busy and engaging day, it is up to pupils to decide which book will win the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2026. The voting starts on 5 May 2026 and the winner will be announced in June.

Mrs Maria Howarth, Head Librarian at Bolton School, said: “After such a fabulous day, I feel that all are winners and the vote will be very close!”