BBC 500 Words judges gather at Buckingham Palace
January 28, 2026
With more than 46,500 entries submitted by young writers across the UK, the BBC 500 Words judges gathered today [January 28th] to debate the final 50 stories shortlisted for this year’s competition.
Her Majesty The Queen joined the panel of judges – chaired by The One Show’s Alex Jones and including Rose Ayling‑Ellis, Sir Lenny Henry, Frank Cottrell‑Boyce, Francesca Simon, Charlie Higson and Malorie Blackman – to discuss the shortlisted stories. A special glimpse of their deliberations was broadcast on The One Show.
The competition, supported by BBC Bitesize, encourages children of all abilities to dive deep into their imagination and write the story they would love to read, bringing people together through the joy of creativity and reading.
Six winning stories will be read by celebrities at the grand final taking place at Windsor Castle in February. The young winners will have the chance to meet Her Majesty The Queen, who has championed the competition every year since 2015.
Children’s Laureate and BBC 500 Words judge, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, commented: “500 Words judging day is a highlight of my calendar. Every year I’m amazed at how funny, wise, ambitious and bonkers our children’s stories can be. And every year we judges have a massive fight about which story is the funniest, wisest, most ambitious and most bonkers.”
The event will be shown as part of a special BBC 500 Words programme with The One Show (BBC One, 7pm) on March 6th and on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on March 7th.
BBC Radio 2’s Sara Cox (4-7pm weekdays) is presenting a World Book Day special for BBC Sounds (March 5th) featuring Jamie Smart and a junior book club. Cox is also hosting a BBC 500 Words special on The Radio 2 Book Club on BBC Sounds (March 3rd).
BBC 500 Words Competition Prizes
50 finalists, along with their parents or carers, have been invited to a star-studded final at Windsor Castle in February 2026, where the top six stories (bronze, silver and gold in two age categories, 5-7 and 8-11) will be read out by celebrities.
Winners in both age groups will receive exciting prizes, including:
- Gold winners: The height of judge Sir Lenny Henry in books, plus 500 books for their schools
- Silver winners: The height of Her Majesty The Queen in books
- Bronze winners: The average height of a 7- or 11-year-old in books
All winning stories will be interpreted by children’s illustrators and published in a special BBC 500 Words winners’ book produced by Oxford University Press. Illustrators include Korky Paul, Harriet Muncaster, Paula Bowles, Rochelle Falconer, Leigh Hodgkinson and Ken Wilson-Max.
The top 50 finalists’ stories will be available to read on the BBC 500 Words website at the end of February.
Partners
BBC Children’s and Education runs 500 Words in partnership with: Beano, EFL in the Community, HeadteacherChat, Libraries Connected, National Book Tokens, National Literacy Trust, Oxford University Press, Pobble, Premier League Primary Stars, Publishers Association, The Reading Agency, World Book Day and new partner, Crayola.
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