BASH - Book Awards St Helens

What is BASH?

BASH stands for Book Awards St Helens and is an annual programme we run to encourage reading for pleasure and to recognise some of the best new children's fiction.

There are many proven benefits to reading for pleasure: it helps children to exercise their imagination, improve their schoolwork, increase their understanding of the world, and can even help them get a good night’s sleep! But most of all reading is lots of fun, and the freedom to choose what we like to read is key. BASH remains one of the few book awards in which children are responsible for choosing the overall winning book in each category.

Schools which subscribe to the Schools Library Service can participate in BASH and attend a series of library-based workshops where children are encouraged to read new and enticing fiction, written specially for them. Through debate and critical appreciation, the pupils vote for their favourite book and choose their winner.

BASH has featured popular and best selling authors such as Michael Morpurgo and Emma Carroll over the past 10 years, and this year is no exception.

Don’t worry if your school isn’t taking part in BASH, you can still read all the books on the shortlist by borrowing them from the library. You can check out our most recent shortlists and winners below if you need a little reading inspiration.

Winners 2025-26

Winners 2024-25