Coventry Inspiration Book Awards 2025

Find out more about the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards

Welcome to the 19th year of the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards. There are five categories of books to choose from for children and young people aged 4 to 18. Each category has 8 books to read and enjoy. You can comment on the books you have read and vote for your favourite one.

The books were shortlisted by a panel of specialist children’s librarians and teachers and reflect a wide range of genres and styles. For every book, you will find links to the authors and publishers websites as well as a list of recommended reads so if you like a particular book you can see if there are similar books you might like to try. If you would like to order your sets of books then please download the order forms and return them to SLS or just email sls@coventry.gov.uk.

The voting will start in January and the book evictions will take place on the following dates:

• Monday 27 January - First book is voted off
• Monday 3 February – Second book is voted off
• Monday 10 February – Third book is voted off
• Half term
• Monday 24 February – Fourth book is voted off
• Monday 3 March – Fifth book is voted off leaving us with the final 3 books
• Wednesday 12 March – Winners announced

Why take part in the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards?

Research shows that Reading for Pleasure not only improves all-round attainment in school including in maths but also increases empathy skills and improves mental wellbeing.

Multiple studies suggest that enjoyment is associated with higher reading performance.20 The recent 2021 PIRLS data for England showed that the pupils who said they liked reading the most scored, on average, 34 points more than those who said they did not like reading.21 In effect, pupils who are reading regularly for enjoyment give themselves unofficial reading lessons, supporting their reading comprehension. From the new Reading Framework (DFE, July 2023)

The Coventry Inspiration Book Awards are the ideal way to get more of your students to read for pleasure. But don't take our word for it, here are some of the comments made by students who have taken part in the Book Awards. 

Book Awards has drawn me more into reading

The book awards have encouraged me to read more...

The Book Awards are a great way to find new books to read

Every book was amazing and has inspired me to read

I loved the quiz because of the excitement and the books were amazing!

Each of the carefully selected shortlists have been tailored to the specific needs of each of the targeted age groups and cover a wide range of genres and styles to help children find the right book for them. Taking part in the Book Awards is about more than just reading and voting for the books. It’s about being part of a wider reading community across the city.  We also run a couple of events as part of the Book Awards to increase engagement, the Hooked on Books quiz and the Celebration Event held at the end of June when we invite all of the winning authors and illustrators to come along and receive their awards from the children who have been voting for their books.

If you want to see how taking part in the Book Awards across your school can engage pupils in reading for pleasure then please watch the Celebration video from a previous Book Awards where you can see how Cannon Park Primary school used the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards to inspire all of their children to read and enjoy books and the impact it has had on the reading culture in the school. 

Hooked on Books Quiz

The Hooked on books quiz has themed rounds of questions all based on that shortlist of 8 books, so the more you have read the better your chances! It is always a fun afternoon with teams from Primary and Secondary schools pitted against each other and great book prizes to be won. 

The Hooked on Books Quiz 2025 is on Tuesday 4 March 10am-12pm and will be held online. 

Each team is made up of 4 students and schools can have a maximum of 2 teams. It is free to take part and if you want to book a place for your team/s then email sls@coventry.gov.uk 

Poster and bookmarks

The posters and bookmarks for the CIBA 2025 awards will be sent out to all schools who have purchased one of the shortlists, but they are available to download if you wish to print more yourself. We also have the CIBA logo available and the primary shortlist and secondary shortlist so you can if you wish print them off and make your own Coventry Inspiration Book Awards display in your library or classroom.