New SFF Award Announced for 2026 Times/Chicken House Competition

A major expansion is coming to one of the UK’s most prominent competitions for emerging children’s writers. Chicken House has revealed that its long‑running Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition will introduce a dedicated science fiction and fantasy award in 2026, created in partnership with specialist bookseller The Broken Binding.

The new category, titled The Broken Binding Prize, is designed exclusively for YA authors working in fantasy, sci‑fi, and speculative storytelling. Its winner will secure a £10,000 publishing contract with Chicken House, along with a conversation about literary representation with Stevie Finegan of the Zeno Agency.

This addition sits alongside the main Times/Chicken House prize, which has been running for 14 years and is open to unagented, unpublished writers producing fiction for readers aged seven to 18. The competition has become a notable launchpad for new talent—more than half of all shortlisted writers have later gone on to secure book deals. The overall winner of the main prize also receives a £10,000 publishing deal and a representation discussion with agent Callen Martin.

Entries for both awards open on 9 January, with a final deadline of 1 June 2026.

Jazz Bartlett Love, head of PR and marketing at Chicken House, said the team is eager to broaden the competition’s reach. She highlighted the rapid growth of YA speculative fiction and expressed excitement about discovering new voices in the genre.

The competition is open internationally to English‑language writers who do not currently have an agent and have not previously published a children’s book. Self‑published authors may also enter. The entry fee is £25, and full details are available online.

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