Bryon, L. Sherwin

The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award established in 2005 to discover new talent in children's writing. It is specifically open to authors who have published a limited number of books, typically two or three, depending on the category. The award was initially known as the Ottakar's Children's Book Prize, named after a bookshop chain. Following the rebranding of Ottakar's stores to Waterstone's in 2006 after an HMV Group acquisition, the prize's name was also changed to the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize.

Starting in 2012, the prize expanded to include three distinct categories: Picture Books, Fiction 5–12, and Teen. Each category winner receives £2,000, with an additional £3,000 awarded to an overall winner selected from the three category recipients. In 2016, the categories were updated with new names: Illustrated Books replaced Picture Books, Younger Fiction took the place of Fiction 5–12, and Older Fiction became the new name for the Teen category.