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It's the most wonderful time of the year ... yep, time to announce our Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition longlist!

With nearly a thousand entries to go through, our team of readers had the near-impossible job of whittling their piles down to choose our final longlistees.

This year we have not one but TWO longlists to announce: as well as our usual prize, we've collaborated with the Institute of Engineering and Technology to create the IET 150 Award, awarded to a submission which broadly celebrates STEM.

So, without further ado – meet our longlistees!

THE TIMES/CHICKEN HOUSE AWARD

Afro Heirs by Sharna Lee
All the Red Leaves by Sheila Ann Brown
Catarina and the Time Catapult by Mario Ambrosi
Fatima & the Invisible Necklace by Laila Rifaat
The Flood Child by Emily Randall
Obsidian Heart by Philippa Peall
The Portland Place Mystery by Nicola Whyte
The Sekret Tyger by Caroline Murphy
Sheerzadeh by Annahita de la Mare
Showstopper by Tom Ramsay
The Size of a Gumball by Rachel Berkowitz
Super Mortals by Afua Bediako
The Star Trap by Hannah Watson
Two Ways to Ditch Your Millions by Sophie Cooper
The Universe is Not an Empty Place by Elva Hills
The Vengeful Son by Amie Jordan
Viola Bluebottle and the Pirates of the Faded Memory by Zoe Scott FitzGibbon
The Words of the Woods by Charlett Goretzka

IET 150 PRIZE

Archibald Bright and the House of Glorious Gentlewomen by Gayle Bell
The Cipher Engines by Henry Coles
Jeremy Gill is Not the Chosen One by Jackie Jones
Odcorp Investigations by Alexi Abel
The Remarkables by Ali Stegert
Starbeing by Daisy Jervis

Huge congratulations to all these brilliant authors – it's going to be a tough job choosing a shortlist from this incredible bunch. Keep an eye out for the shortlist coming soon!

Want to enter next year? Find out more about the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition.