Golden Kite Awards

View the 2024 SCBWI Golden Kite Award Winners Here

Award info

About the Award

Founded in 1973, the Golden Kite Awards stand as the premier children’s literary award judged exclusively by peers, making them truly unique in the world of children’s literature. With over 1,000 books submitted annually, the Golden Kite Awards recognize outstanding achievement in seven categories: Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction for Younger Readers, Nonfiction for Older Readers, Picture Book Text, Picture Book Illustration, and Illustration for Older Readers.

Each category winner receives $2,500, while honor recipients are awarded $500. Hosted by SCBWI, the Golden Kite Awards celebrate the best in children’s storytelling, honoring excellence, creativity, and inspiration across genres and age groups.

Submissions open on June 15, 2024.

Deadline to submit is November 15, 2024.

About the Ceremony

The Golden Kite Awards Ceremony for books published in 2024 will take place online on Friday, February 21, 2025 from 4:00pm-5:30pm PACIFIC TIME. The awards ceremony is open to the public and will feature opportunities to mix and mingle with the Golden Kite finalists and winners in a virtual "afterparty".

Submission guidelines

You may apply as an author, illustrator, or translator of a book published in 2024. You must be a current member through December 2024 to have a book submitted to the Golden Kite Awards.

Only books written or translated into English are accepted.

Books must be published by PAL publishers.

All submissions MUST BE in completed, bound form. NO GALLEYS.

Categories include:

Picture Book Text

Picture Book Illustration

Illustrated Books for Older Readers (includes graphic novels, fiction, and nonfiction for middle grade and young adult illustrated books)

Middle Grade

Young Adult

Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers

Nonfiction Text for Older Readers

Guidelines for publishers will be emailed directly.

Individuals: Please contact your publisher to check if your book has been submitted. Please ask your publisher to submit copies on your behalf. The best way to submit to the Golden Kites is in conjunction with your publisher.

Publishers can contact goldenkiteaward@scbwi.org for questions.

If your publisher is unable to submit for you, please contact the email above for further instructions. 

Physical copies sent in by individuals will not be accepted as of 2024.

You may submit your book to ONE category only, except in the case of Picture Book Text, Picture Book Illustration, and Illustrated Books for Older Readers. For example, you may submit to Illustrated Books for Older Readers for the illustrator, and the same book can be submitted for the Middle Grade award for the author. However, both the author and the illustrator must be current members. If you are mailing these entries to the SCBWI office, please submit SIX copies of the book.

The book submitted must be published in 2024.

Self-published books are not eligible, however, you may enter your independently published book in the Spark Award.

One Golden Kite Award Winner and Honor book will be chosen per category. Winning books will be included in a press release and an announcement on the SCBWI website and social and will receive gold stickers for their books.

Although SCBWI advisory council members are eligible to enter their books in the Golden Kites, the advisory council have decided that should any of them win, they will donate the prize money to a nonprofit organization of their choice.

Winners will be announced at the Golden Kite Awards Ceremony in 2025.

Questions? Please email the Golden Kite Coordinator.