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The Times/Chicken House shortlist is here!

Well, that was a next-to-impossible decision! The longlist this year was super strong – so strong, in fact, that we couldn’t bear to whittle it down to only five titles.

We love the resulting shortlist of three YA and three middle-grade titles, a list encompassing highly imaginative fantasy and spine-tingling horror, ghosts and demons, out-of-this-world fashion and competing Prince Charmings. For the first time ever, more than half of our shortlistees live outside of the UK – in Germany, Canada, USA and Australia.

So here it is: our amazing shortlist!

1. All Hell – Jess Popplewell
2. All Things Dead and Dying – Chandra Fisher
3. Eddie’s Demons – Sarah Harrison
4. Ghostly: Murder at the Haunted Hotel – Antje Frey
5. I Was an Alien Fashion Model – Fatima Mahdi
6. The Apprentice Guide to Fairyside – Marianna Shek

Huge congratulations to our shortlisted authors. To anyone who was longlisted but didn’t reach the shortlist, never fear: we’ll be providing you with a handy reader’s report with some feedback from our team. Now, it’s over to our fantastic panel of judges to decide on the winner – and to Barry to choose the second prize, the Chairman’s Choice Award! We’ll be announcing the result widely at the end of November as well as opening next year’s competition. Watch this space!