Celebrating the Winners of the 2026 Design a National Book Token Competition!
To celebrate World Book Day and the UK’s National Year of Reading 2026, our sponsors National Book Tokens invited children of all ages to DESIGN A NATIONAL BOOK TOKEN for their annual competition. This year’s winners were selected by three very special guest judges: bestselling authors and illustrators Paddy Donnelly, Nadia Shireen and Sonia Leong!
The National Year of Reading theme, Go All In, is all about diving deeper into the things you already love through reading. Whether you’re passionate about football, animals, space, fashion, gaming, history, music or making people laugh, books can bring your interests to life in exciting new ways. Young designers were challenged to create bold, vibrant designs that capture how books take readers deeper into the things they love most.
This year’s judges selected winners and runners-up across three age categories: up to 8, 9–12, and 13–16, with one standout overall winner chosen by the National Book Tokens team.
A huge congratulations goes to Esme, age 11, from Cullen Primary School in Buckie, Scotland, who claimed the top prize. Alongside a treasure trove of National Book Tokens for herself, her school, and her class, Esme and her classmates will also enjoy a special trip to a local bookshop – where they can handpick plenty of brilliant new reads to dive into.
Nadia Shireen, judge of the 9-12 Years category, said of Esme’s winning design “This design caught my eye immediately because it’s so lively and colourful. Using a black background is a really clever choice because it makes all the colours really pop! The drawing communicates the message to ‘Go All In’ really clearly. It can be quite hard to make lots of little images into a cohesive picture, but this young designer has really spaced everything out in a smart, considered way. Very impressive skills!”
Congratulations to all six winning entrants!
WINNERS
Up to 8 Years
WINNER: Benjamin, age 7, Swindon
RUNNER-UP: Phoebe, age 8, County Armagh
9-12 Years
WINNER (and OVERALL WINNER): Esme, age 11, Aberdeenshire
RUNNER-UP: Arien, age 11, Morar
13-16 Years
WINNER: Liliana, age 14, Essex
RUNNER-UP: Meghan, age 13, Derbyshire
We’re so proud of every young artist who took part – thank you for celebrating books and reading choices in such a creative way.
If you’re looking to reward and inspire the children at your school, the National Book Tokens Presentation Card is the perfect solution. Bringing together all the benefits of a National Book Tokens gift card into a certificate-style presentation card, this is an all-in-one solution for your end-of-term rewards, one-off certificates of achievement and prizes. Just like their innovative personalised gift cards, you can use your school’s crest or logo, and add your own text, to create meaningful and memorable rewards.
Visit the National Book Tokens site for more information about their rewards and incentives, or get in touch with their team to see how they can help you inspire and encourage reading for pleasure at your school.
Find out more here.