Books by Coral Rumble & Sarah Ziman longlisted in UKLA Book Awards 2026

We’re properly proud of our authors and illustrators here at Troika, so when their books are recognised by major awards, we couldn't be happier for them.

And, since they’re such a talented bunch, we get to feel happy quite a lot! Making us beam with pride this week are Coral Rumble and Sarah Ziman, whose latest books are longlisted in the annual UK Literary Association (UKLA) Book Awards 2026.

Featuring books in translation, past winners, exciting debuts and a huge range of genres, topics and themes, the longlists - for the only national children’s book awards judged by teachers -  showcase high-quality children’s books that can reflect all identities and promote diversity,  and are ones that every teacher, who wants to inspire a passion for reading for pleasure, needs in their school.

For Awards sponsor, Nikki Gamble of Best Books for Schools, “The UKLA Book Awards are significant not only for the recognition and celebration of high-quality literature for children, but also for the underpinning principle that teachers’ knowledge of children’s books is fundamental to creating readers in classrooms. At a time when there is much talk about a crisis in reading for pleasure, we should pause to reflect on the teachers who are helping to buck this trend and how they achieve positive outcomes.”

With a record number of submissions, competition to gain a place in the four category longlists this year has been intense.

Longlisted in the 7-10+ age category are:

  • Poet Coral Rumble’s first novel, Jakub’s Otter - which also won the Spark! School Book Award 2024/25, was shortlisted in the School Reading List Children’s Books of the Year 2024, and was a Summer Reading Challenge 2025 selection.

  • Sarah Ziman’s debut poetry collection, Why Did My Brain Make Me Say It? - which was also shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year Award 2025, and has been described by The Guardian as “a joyous, zingy feast of verse”.

 
 

You can check out the full UKLA Book Awards longlist at https://ukla.org/ukla-book-awards-longlist-2026/

We wish everyone the best of luck, while Troika’s fingers are of course very tightly crossed for Coral and Sarah!



Shauna Robertson