Opportunity for Schools: Children’s Books Ireland announce 2025 Junior Juries’ Programme
Children’s Books Ireland 2025 Junior Juries Programme
Children’s Books Ireland are delighted to announce the 2025 Junior Juries’ scheme – part of the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards – is now open for registration! Junior Juries is a unique programme for schools, libraries and book clubs, designed to encourage reading for pleasure and appreciation for a wide variety of books for ages 0-18.
Participating classes and book clubs make their own selection of suitable titles from the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards shortlist, which will be announced on 5 February online and at Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. They will provide your group with a specially designed digital resource pack so participants can engage with the chosen books by taking part in quizzes, debates, discussions, research projects, creative writing, and visual art activities which will enhance their reading experience. At the end of this process, each group is asked to collectively score the books they have read. The deadline for submitting scores is 13 May 2025. Children’s Books Ireland will collate these scores to determine the winner of the Junior Juries’ Award, which will be presented by Junior Jury members at the official prize-giving ceremony on 19 May as part of International Literature Festival Dublin.
Registration is completely free!
Register online here: surveymonkey.com/r/KB39PXR
All groups will receive:
• A digital resource pack
• Bookmarks
• Poster
As part of the Junior Juries scheme registered groups can apply for the following free opportunities*:
- An online or in-person author or illustrator visit to your school March – April 2025
- A visit from a KPMG volunteer on 10 April 2025
- Copies of the shortlisted books
- A chance to be part of a short online video about the Junior Juries
- Attending the in-person awards ceremony on 19 May 2025
*These opportunities are limited and based on need. Applications for books or author/illustrator/volunteer visits will be given to those groups who show most need.
Further information about the awards and the Junior Juries scheme can be found here: childrensbooksireland.ie
Registration for the Junior Juries is ongoing. However, if you’d like to apply for an author visit or visit from a KPMG volunteer please ensure to register your class or book club no later than 28 February 2025.
Key dates:
- 5 February: Shortlist announcement
- 28 February: closing date Junior Juries registration if applying for author/volunteer visit
- March-April: author/illustrator visits
- 10 April: KPMG Volunteer visits
- 1 May: deadline submission Reading Hero nominations
- 13 May: deadline submission Junior Juries scores
- 19 May: Awards ceremony
Register online here: surveymonkey.com/r/KB39PXR.
If you have any questions about the Junior Juries’ scheme or the awards, please send an email to awards@childrensbooksireland.ie.