Irish author and playwright, Neil Sharpson and illustrator Dan Santat have been announced as winners of the KPMG Book of the Year Award for their picturebook Don't Trust Fish! at this year’s KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards.
Aimed at younger readers, the award-winning debut picturebook by Sharpson and Santat explores life beneath the waves through humour and striking illustrations, offering a series of increasingly absurd reasons why fish may not be as trustworthy as they appear. You can read an extract here!
Announced by host Rick O’Shea at a ceremony held in Merrion Square, in partnership with International Literature Festival Dublin, a total of six awards were presented to Irish authors and illustrators, who will also receive a total prize fund of €16,000.
More 2026 winners:
- The Honour Award for Illustration - This That What – A colourful, rhyming picturebook with accessible text that tells the story of Kiki Dime and her very busy brain. Written by Katy Ashworth and illustrated by Colleen Larmour (Puffin).
- The Honour Award for Fiction - My Name is Jodie Jones – A young adult novel celebrating individuality and exploring darker themes, neurodiverse narrator, Jodie Jones, struggles to deal with an experience of a terrorist attack. Written by Emma Shevah (David Fickling Books).
- The Judges' Special Award - Skipshock – Young adult science-fiction story that takes the reader on a train from Cork to a world of different time zones, exploring multilayered power dynamics and an electrifying romance. Written by Caroline O'Donoghue (Walker Books).
- The Eilís Dillon Award - The Doomsday Club – A début authored novel set in Dublin that blends adventure, fantasy and humour as school students Jack, Conan and Yash make a strange discovery in the school yard. Written by Kevin Moran (The O’Brien Press).
- The Junior Juries' Award - Solo – A young adult verse novel that takes its readers on a heart-stopping journey through music, love, betrayal and redemption through the main character of Daisy in her final year of school. Written by Gráinne O’Brien (Little Island Books)
And Derry schoolgirl Caoilfhionn Carlin (11) was recognised as the KPMG Reading Hero for 2026. This award recognises remarkable passion and achievements in reading by a young person.
Reading Hero Winner Caoilfhionn Carlin with some of her class mates. Photo: Julien Behal
Elaina Ryan, CEO of Children’s Books Ireland said: "Children’s literature in Ireland is ever-evolving and this year’s winners undoubtedly reflect that. The winning titles are deeply imaginative and original, and by turns side-splittingly funny and incredibly moving. It’s a joy to see neurodivergent characters so strongly represented in this inclusive selection of excellent books.
"We’re proud to celebrate the authors, illustrators and publishers behind the books, and offer them our warmest congratulations. Our judges read 151 titles in total, and whittled these first to a shortlist of ten, and then to today’s winners – a mammoth task, undertaken with great skill and care. My thanks go to our dedicated panel of judges, whose expertise and enthusiasm made this year’s awards possible."
The shortlisted books have already been enjoyed by 8,377 young people through our Junior Juries’ programme - visit the Children's Books Ireland (CBI) website to get involved!
There are great reading recommendations every month in the RTÉ KIDS Book Club online - with thanks to our friends at CBI.
