“Extraordinary” John Agard wins UK’s top prize for poetry for children for unprecedented third time!
The winner of the UK’s major award for published poetry for children, the CLiPPA (CLPE Children’s Poetry Award) was announced this afternoon at a ceremony at the National Theatre on London’s Southbank watched live by thousands of primary school children.
The winner of the CLiPPA 2026 is John Agard for his collection The Poetry World of John Agard, illustrated by Shirley Hottier (Otter-Barry Books).
John Agard won the CLiPPA with his wife Grace Nichols in 2003 with Under the Moon and Over the Sea and again in 2009 with The Young Inferno, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. He was on the shortlist in 2025 with Wise Up! Wise Down, with fellow poet Jon-Arno Lawson and Kitamura again. This third win is unprecedented in the award’s history.
A towering figure in the children’s poetry world, John Agard is also a recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry (2012) and the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award (2021).
Poet and Children’s Laureate Wales Nicola Davies, chair of this year’s judges, says:
“The first time I saw John Agard perform his work, over thirty years ago, I knew at once he was the most extraordinary artist. His poems gleam with human warmth and sunshine, but like all bright lights they cast important shadows, and illuminate things we have not noticed before. You can carry John’s words in your head and your heart and warm your soul on them forever. His book The Poetry World of John Agard will invite new generations of readers into his wonderful universe and I'm delighted that it is this year’s CLiPPA winner.”
The Poetry World of John Agard features 80 of Agard’s best poems, with new illustrations by Shirley Hottier. Taken from early collections including I Din Do Nuttin (1983), Laughter is an Egg (1990) and We Animals Would Like a Word with You (1996), many drawing on John’s Caribbean childhood, these poems resonate with young readers today but have also inspired many of the UK’s best-known young poets.
As well as spotlighting the best new collections for children, the CLiPPA inspires young people to embrace and share poetry through its Shadowing Scheme, which has been particularly popular in the National Year of Reading. CLPE is delighted to announce that record numbers took part this year, over 600 schools and over 120,000 children.
Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust, CLPE’s parent organisation, who opened the event, said,
“John Agard’s poetry welcomes young readers to the magic and mystery of words, and his flamboyant, exuberant performances, whether live or on film, have turned countless numbers of children into poetry lovers. In the National Year of Reading 2026, when the nation is invited to “Go All In” on their passions through reading, we’re delighted to celebrate John with the award of a third CLiPPA and it’s a privilege to do so in the company of so many excited, enthusiastic poetry fans, of all ages.”
Also on this year’s CLiPPA shortlist were Sam Gayton with Press Play to Start, a debut collection cleverly bridging the gap between gaming and poetry; Simon Mole with A First Book of Bugs, which introduces young readers to a wide range of insects through verse; Sean Taylor with Five Little Friends, brand new finger rhymes for the very youngest; and Traci N. Todd with This Is Not a Small Voice, a collection of predominantly African American, Caribbean, and Black British writing for children. All poets, including John Agard, performed live at the award ceremony, Traci N. Todd via video link from the US. Former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell illustrated proceedings live.
Primary school children from Heathfield Infant School Twickenham, Norwich Road Academy, Thetford, Rhodes Avenue Primary School, North London, English Martyrs School, Birmingham and St Matthew’s CofE Primary School, Enfield, winners in the CLiPPA Shadowing Scheme, also performed live at the ceremony on the Lyttleton Theatre stage alongside the poets. On the morning of the ceremony, the performing schools enjoyed performance skills workshops delivered by the National Theatre to support them in their preparations to perform on the Lyttelton stage.
An audience of 800 watched the event live in the Lyttelton Theatre, while hundreds of schools across the country joined in watching the CLiPPA Award Ceremony via Livestream.
Anjali Patel, Lead Advisory Teacher at CLPE says,
“Congratulations to John Agard on this unprecedented third CLiPPA win and for all that he does to inspire young children to read, share and enjoy poetry. At CLPE we know that poetry is fundamental to children’s love of language and reading and are delighted to celebrate The Poetry World of John Agard and all our shortlisted collections at this very special event.”
John Agard receives a trophy and a cheque for £1000.
John Agard is one of the most admired and loved poets of our time. Born in Guyana, he moved to Britain in 1977, where his exceptional poetic talents were soon recognised. He has published more than 50 poetry collections for both children and adults and has won many awards. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 2007. He was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012 and received the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. His poetry is on the GCSE English syllabus and he has toured widely with the GCSE Poetry Live show. He is married to fellow-poet Grace Nichols, and they live in Lewes, West Sussex.
Shirley Hottier was winner of the FAB illustration award in 2021. She is French and graduated in Paris with a degree in architecture. As an illustrator she has a passion for promoting diversity, drawing on her own family tradition of multiple cultures to create warm and lively scenes and characters. Shirley specialises in digital art, incorporating a rich palette of vivid colours and varied textures. She lives in Edinburgh.