We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Ruth Rendell Award, which recognises the writer or author who has had the most significant influence on literacy in the UK over the past year.

The award was launched in 2016 by ALCS and the National Literacy Trust in honour of the best-selling crime author literacy advocate Ruth Rendell, who passed away in 2015. Previous winners include Andy McNab and Dapo Adeola. Greg James and Chris Smith are the current holders.

The winner will be announced at a reception at Goldsmiths’ Centre in London on Thursday 20 February.

The shortlist

Naomi Jones 

Naomi Jones is an award-winning children’s author whose books have been translated into 19 languages. She’s passionate about making reading accessible and as well as doing events at schools, libraries, and literary festivals throughout the country she’s also worked with organisations including the National Trust, National Literacy Trust, BBC, and helped announce the Oxford Children’s word of the year.

Naomi’s book Thunderboots which was inspired by her diagnosis of dyslexia recently won the Reader’s Choice Award for Picture Books at the Diversity Awards, the Derby Picture Book Award, and was also shortlisted for The Week Junior Awards. Her books The Perfect Fit, How to Catch a Rainbow, and How to Make a Story have also all been selected for the Scottish BookTrust BookBug programme.

Naomi lives with her family by the sea in Cornwall. She loves wild swimming, playing netball, and curling up with a good book.

Jeffrey Boakye 

Jeffrey Boakye is an author, broadcaster, educator and journalist with a particular interest in issues surrounding race, masculinity, education and popular culture. Originally from Brixton in London, Jeffrey has taught secondary English for fifteen years. He is senior teaching fellow at the University of Manchester and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester. Jeffrey’s books include: Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials and the Meaning of Grime; Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored; What is Masculinity? Why Does it Matter? And Other Big Questions; Musical Truth, Musical World, I Heard What You Said, and Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer. He is also the co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s double award-winning Add to Playlist. Jeffrey now lives in Yorkshire with his wife and two sons. 

Mel Taylor-Bessent 

Mel has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. After graduating with a Creative Writing degree, she set up her own company, Little Star Writing, at the age of 22, running creative writing after school clubs for children aged 7+. The huge success of Little Star Writing inspired Mel to develop Authorfy, an online platform that brings children all over the world closer to their favourite authors. 

Mel returned to her own writing in 2020 and The Christmas Carrolls, the first in a three-book series, was published by Farshore in October 2021, receiving critical acclaim in the Financial Times, the i, Daily Mail, Metro and the Irish Times. The Christmas Carrolls was also recently selected as one of Blue Peter’s ‘recommended reads’, as part of their newly launched monthly Book Club, in partnership with the Reading Agency. The first book in her new series, Race to Imagination Island, published in July 2024 and the second book, Race to Echoes Edge, will publish on 27th March 2025. Last year, she also launched the YouTube channel Write For Fun with Mel TB, full of creative writing prompts and exercises to inspire the next generation of writers. 

Hannah Gold 

Hannah Gold is the author of The Last Bear, The Lost Whale, Finding Bear and her latest book, Turtle Moon. The Last Bear became an inspirational, international bestseller on release and was the winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award; and The Lost Whale was the winner of the Edward Stanford Children’s Travel Book of the Year. Her books have sold over 300,000 copies in the UK alone and been translated into twenty-seven languages.  

She grew up in a family where books, animals and the beauty of the outside world were ever present and is passionate about writing stories that share her love of the planet. Hannah is also an ambassador for Whale and Dolphin Conservation and lives in the UK. 

Tom Percival 

Tom Percival is an author/illustrator who lives in Stroud with his family and The Best Dog in the World (apologies if you happen to think that your dog is The Best Dog in the World). A lot of his books explore social connections, community, equality and emotional growth, but he also makes room to write a bit of pure escapist fun once in a while. When he’s not making books he enjoys walking and running around the countryside with either his family, or The Best Dog in the World, and sometimes ALL of them at once. He also makes music and enjoys taking photographs. 

Sharna Jackson 

Sharna Jackson is an author and artistic director who creates work to encourage children and young people to participate in arts, culture and publishing. She lives on a ship in Rotterdam. Sharna’s latest book, The Nine Night Mystery, is a page-turning murder-mystery full of surprising twists and epic reveals and is all about identity. 

Her debut novel, High-Rise Mystery won numerous awards and accolades including Best Book for Younger Readers at the 2020 Waterstones Book Prize. She released two art activity books with Tate in 2014 before writing Black Artists Shaping the World in 2021. She was Southbank Centre’s Imagine A Story Author in 2019/20 creating London/Londoff with over 1200 school children. She curates Ensemble – a show highlighting ethnic minority talent and achievement in the UK games industry. 

Alex Wharton 

Alex Wharton is an award-winning writer and performer of poetry for adults and children. His First Book of poetry for children, Daydreams and Jellybeans, was shortlisted for the Wales Book of The Year Award 2022, The North Somerset Teacher’s Book Awards, The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards and was named as a National Poetry Day Recommended Read. 

Alex won the inaugural Rising Stars Wales Award in 2020 and is the Children’s Laureate Wales 2023-2025. He has collaborated with key national organisations such as Cadw, National Dance Company Wales, Welsh Government, British Council of Literature and Welsh Libraries, and has also appeared in festivals such as Hay Festival and Edinburgh International Book Festival. 

You can find out more about the Ruth Rendell Award here.