'Great plot twists' Lancashire schoolchildren crowned this thriller as their Book of the Year

It’s the longest running young people's regional book award in the country - voted for entirely by school children.

Now a ripping mystery thriller has been crowned Lancashire Book of the Year 2026 as the prestigious award celebrates its 40th year.

Mondays are Murder by Ravena Guron was chosen by Year 9 pupils from schools across Lancashire and Blackpool. The novel follows 17-year-old Kay, who returns to her hometown following the deaths of her friend Ivy and aunt Sandra. When she receives an anonymous note predicting a series of increasingly dangerous events culminating in her own murder, Kay and her cousin Nikki must uncover the identity of the note writer before it's too late.

Student judges praised the book's "great plot twists", "great storyline" and "great characters and character development", The shortlisted books and authors were:

• A Better Nightmare by Megan Freeman
• Aphrodite by Bryony Pearce
• Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews
• Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray
• How to Survive A Horror Movie by Scarlett Dunmore
• Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie
• Mondays are Murder by Ravena Guron
• Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis Featherstone
• Shadow Thieves by Peter Burns
• Strange Nature by Mary Watson
• The Deadsoul Project by Dan Smith
• The Hive by Anna February

Organised by Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Book of the Year is the longest-running young people's regional book award in the country. It remains one of the few book awards where young people themselves are entirely responsible for drawing up the shortlist and choosing the overall winner.

This year, Year 9 pupils from 37 high schools across Lancashire and Blackpool took part in the judging process. The young judges began with a longlist of 86 young adult fiction titles before narrowing it down to a shortlist of 12 books. The winner was then selected through a confidential vote in June 2026.

Ravena said: "I am so thrilled. This is my third young adult thriller, and it's the third time that I've been shortlisted for this award. I love these awards so much. Last year was the first time I'd ever actually come to Preston, and it's so nice to be back here.

"It's so nice to be part of such a big shortlist with such a diverse range of authors, so many genres and it's just really, really nice to have your readers being the ones to nominate you."

Launched in 1987, Lancashire Book of the Year was the first regional book award for children in the UK. Its first winner was Philip Pullman, who went on to achieve worldwide success with the His Dark Materials trilogy. Previous winners have included Malorie Blackman, Anthony Horowitz and Sarah Crossan.

The award has been sponsored by the University of Lancashire for the past 26 years.

Lancashire County Council's library service worked with publishers, Peters and eBook partner BorrowBox to ensure judges had access to physical copies of the shortlisted titles, with several also available as eBooks and eAudiobooks.

Thanking the student judges, Ravena said: "Thank you so much for taking part in these awards and reading all the books. I hope you've had the loveliest time.

"I hope you've been introduced to lots of new authors, and I hope that you carry on reading and trying new genres in future. Reading is such a fun thing to do. It's so important. It builds your concentration, lets you experience new worlds outside your own and has brought me so much joy. I hope it has for you too."

County Councillor Ella Worthington, cabinet member for Civic Pride, said: "As Lancashire Book of the Year celebrates its 40th year, it's fantastic to see so many young people continuing to play such an important role in championing reading and discovering new authors.

"Congratulations to Ravena Guron on winning this year's award, and to all the authors who made this year's shortlist. Being selected by young readers from across Lancashire and Blackpool is a fantastic achievement and reflects the quality and variety of young adult fiction being written today.

"Thank you to our student judges for the time, enthusiasm and dedication they have shown throughout the process."

This year's judging schools were:

1. Albany Academy
2. Archbishop Temple Church of England High School
3. Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
4. Balshaw's C of E High School
5. Bowland High
6. Broughton High School
7. Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School
8. Burnley High School
9. Cardinal Allen Catholic High School
10. Carr Hill High School
11. Chadwick
12. Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
13. Colne Park High School
14. Colne Primet Academy
15. Eden Boys School
16. Fulwood Academy
17. Haslingden High School
18. Hutton Church of England Grammar School
19. Kirkham Grammar
20. Lancaster Girls' Grammar School
21. Mount Carmel
22. Parklands High School
23. Pendle Vale College
24. Preston Muslim Girls High School
25. Ribblesdale School
26. Ripley St Thomas C of E Academy
27. Shuttleworth College
28. Sir John Thursby Community College
29. St Mary's Catholic High School
30. St. Bede's Catholic High School Lytham
31. St. George's Blackpool
32. St. Michael's C of E High School
33. Tarleton Academy
34. The Hollins
35. Tor View school
36. Up Holland High School
37. Walton-le-Dale High School