The UK’s sole award for creative educational writing, the ALCS EWA is worth £2,000 to the winner and is given annually, with the intended age groups of the works under consideration rotated each year.

This year’s prize will be awarded to the best creative non-fiction work for 5- to 11-year olds, first published in the UK in the English language in 2019 or 2020. Find out more about the eligibility criteria and how to enter here.

The winner of the 2020 ALCS Educational Writers’ Award was Black History Matters: The Story of Black History, From African Kingdoms to Black Lives Matter.

Written by acclaimed Black historian, Robin Walker, the 2020 judges praised the winning title by saying: “This accessible, comprehensive and inspiring book provides a balanced and timely introduction, both to Black history and to the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement. It’s an excellent classroom resource that will be used time and time again by teachers.”

Other recent winners of the EWA include the 2018 winner for the 11-18 age group, Far From Home (Franklin Watts) by Cath Senker; and the 2019 winner for the 5-11 age group,  Alastair Humphreys’ Great Adventurers: The Incredible Expeditions of 20 Explorers (Big Picture Press) written by Alastair Humphreys and illustrated by Kevin Ward.

Now in its 13th year, the Educational Writers’ Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors (SoA) to ‘celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity and encourages students to read widely and build up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications’.

Find out how to enter and read the full terms and conditions on the Society of Authors’ website.