FAQs

Stories that suit the contemporary picture book format aimed at young readers aged 3 years plus. 

Stories that suit the picture book format and are aimed at young readers aged 3 years plus. They must be no more than 700 words long and should:

• • Be age-range appropriate, eg must not be first-word or look-'n'-feel books aimed at babies, toddlers and preschoolers

They should also:

• • Have a strong distinctive voice

  • Feature a memorable, authentic-feeling Black or mixed-Black main character

  • Be well-structured stories with a clear beginning and satisfying ending

  • Be written in either rhyme or prose

  • Be uplifting and light-hearted, humorous or thought-provoking 

  • Feel original and relevant to 21st-century children

  • Not have historical, distressing or overtly anti-racist themes

  • Have a strong narrative arc, ie be well-structured with a clear beginning and satisfying ending

  • Be age-range appropriate, eg must not be first-word or look-'n'-feel books aimed at babies, toddlers and preschoolers

We live in a multi-ethnic society, so it's perfectly acceptable to include a diverse cast if your story demands it. But Black protagonists must drive the story. They may be heroes, problem-solvers, adventurers or everyday children who are caring, playful, brave, intelligent, tenacious, energetic or witty.

They mustn't feel like white characters with brown faces: they need to be rooted in the story with a clear background that reflects their unique cultural/ethnic experiences, ie believable Black characters being themselves. And when using cultural/ethnic references, they must be non-stereotypical and naturally integrated.

We do not want stories with animal main characters or heavily referencing Black pain or suffering. And we're not looking for non-narrative poetry, non-fiction, historical fiction or any chapter books. 

The clue is in the name 'picture books'. We don't want lengthy passages of text on each page. And, just because the word limit is 700 words that doesn't mean you need all 700 words to tell your story. Only use the precise number of words required to say what you want to say really well. Your text should be pared back to suit the contemporary picture book format, leaving space for the illustrations to evoke a mood, contradict your text or add layers of meaning. If you are unsure where to start, we recommend attending our picture book workshops.  

The number of pages in picture books can vary depending on the page size, layout and quantity of illustrations in the final published book, so it's easier to think in terms of word count: 

• No more than 700 words for a picture book aimed at 3 years plus. (Between 350-700 words is ideal.) 

• Plan for an average of around 30 words per page as a very rough guide (no. of words per page can vary — variety is good). If you are regularly exceeding 30 words per page then your script may start to feel too long for the picture book format. Do this page-planning in your head or perhaps use a 12-page-spread planner. You do not need to add page breaks into your actual manuscript. (See our Five-Day Formatting Fix videos for more info.)

Yes. We welcome self-published titles produced from January 2021 onwards, but please send text-only versions of your book with all illustrations stripped out. If you submit your manuscript with illustrations, your entry will be ineligble.

Your manuscript will be read by experienced children's authors, librarians, editors, publishing or English literature MA/Phd students and school teachers including members of the Black community. They will select a longlist to be scrutinised by Fabia Turner, our prize founder. A shortlist will then be created by a smaller team of highly experienced readers. Our expert panel of judges from across the book industry will anonymously select the winner. 

We believe there should be more quality, contemporary children's books featuring authentic Black main characters, written by Black-British authors. The Jericho Prize aims to make this happen by encouraging Black-British writers to share their stories from the category we've identified. 

We recognise that unpublished/self-published Black-British writers need a prize just for them, that offers a space to craft and showcase their stories to the world. Black-British authors are already underrepresented and the Jericho Prize directly addresses this issue in a way that a generic prize for all writers of colour may not. 

Black-British children need to see themselves reflected realistically in books. Reading more texts by Black-British authors may inspire children to write and, hopefully, become future Jericho Prize winners. 

Research shows the percentage of children's books featuring Black main characters doesn't reflect the current number of Black-British children in primary school. We need more stories to redress this imbalance, and we'd like to give Black-British writers first dibs at creating these texts for this prize. 

Of course, as a writer, you should feel free to portray whatever characters you like. We don't believe writers of any ethnicity should be pigeon-holed. Please only submit your work if you have a strong desire to tell a story with a Black character in the starring role. 

We don't want you to rely on illustration briefs to tell us your main character is Black. We are challenging you to weave this knowledge naturally into your text so we get a sense of your three-dimensional character.  

Picture book submissions can be rhyming stories or prose. For more guidance on writing a picture book, check out these brilliant blogs: Picturebooks - from idea to submission by Oliver Hope and The Purple Crayon by Harold Underdown. Make sure you also book onto our summer workshops.

If we opened the competition to all writers of colour, take-up from certain Black-British communities might still be low. We want all Black-British children's writers to feel welcomed and inspired. If you are not a Black writer, check out the FAB Prize which is open to all writers and illustrators of colour.

If the problem persists, please email us at jerichoprize@gmail.com.