WEBINAR: UV 2026 Kick-Off LAUNCH EVENT
May 22, 2025
Online event
Join us for the FREE launch of Undiscovered Voices 2026!
COME AND JOIN US!
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS EXCITING COMPETITION!
If you’re an unpublished, un-agented children’s author, don’t miss this opportunity to attend the online launch of the next SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition for unpublished fiction writers.
At this event you’ll hear from Natascha Biebow, Co-regional advisor of SCBWI- BI, our sponsor, Working Partners,and our SIX JUDGES for 2026:
literary agents Julia Churchill, Becky Bagnell, junior agent Saskia Leach, and publishing editors Frances Taffinder, Charlie Selvaggi-Castelletti and Tierney Holm.
Get TOP TIPS on what the judges will be looking for, discover how the competition has launched the careers of over fifty debut authors, and find out how you can make your submission a real winner.
PLEASE BOOK YOUR PLACE BY CLICKING THE BOOK NOW BUTTON BELOW. IT'S FREE!
ABOUT UV2026
The Undiscovered Voices Anthology aims to celebrate a diverse range of unagented and unpublished children’s fiction from members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) British Isles and Europe. SCBWI British Isles’ UV competition runs every two years, supported by the generous sponsorship of Working Partners.
ENTRY CRITERIA
UV2026 is FREE to enter, but only unagented and unpublished members of SCWBI living in the UK and Europe (writing in the English language) are eligible. Click the link below to JOIN! Other entry requirements and rules for writers wishing to apply can be found on the UV website.
KEY DATES
Submissions open 3 July 2025 and close at midnight on 8 September 2025. When submissions open, a link to an online form will appear on this website. A panel of children’s book editors and agents will make the final selection for the anthology, and the long-list will be announced in December 2025 and the selected entries will be revealed in January 2026. The judges’ decision is final.
UV 2026 JUDGES
Julia Churchill
Julia runs the children’s book side of the business at AM Heath & Co Ltd. She represents writers of all ages of children’s books, and fiction and non-fiction.
Saskia Leach
Saskia joined Kate Nash Literary Agency in 2021. She represents commercial fiction for adults, young adults and children, and her clients include A. J. Clack, J. L. Simmonds and Hannah Kingsley. Saskia was a founding member of the Association of Authors' Agents Bridge Committee, serving as Secretary from 2022-2024, and is a champion of the #RespectRomFic movement. She loves stories written from multiple perspectives and featuring complex and dynamic characters. Outside of agenting, Saskia enjoys musical theatre, both as a performer and viewer, and supports Brighton & Hove Albion FC. She is delighted to be one of the judges for UV 26 and looks forward to reading
Frances Taffinder
Frances is a Commissioning Editor at Walker Books, where she works on fiction for all ages. After a stint working in audiobook publishing, Frances started at Walker back in 2012. She initially worked in the Editorial Services team, proofreading and copy-editing anything and everything, before joining the Fiction team. Frances has a particular interest in teen and YA fiction of all genres, and two of her favourite authors are Jandy Nelson and Neal Shusterman, both of whom she is lucky enough to work with.
Charlie Selvaggi-Castelletti
Charlie is a Commissioning Editor at Macmillan Children’s Books and First Ink. They are also an author of fiction and picture books, as well as a poetry anthologist.
Tierney Holm
Tierney is the senior editor on the Gallery Kids & YA list at Simon & Schuster where she works across children’s fiction, non-fiction and picture books. She graduated Valedictorian from Royal Holloway in 2019 with a BA Hons in Drama & Theatre Studies before making her start in publishing as part of the sales team at Scholastic. Tierney looks for voice-led fiction, a hook you cannot put down and characters you’re excited to spend time with. She enjoys reading horror, romance, literary fiction and the occasional fantasy.
Becky Bagnell
Becky is the founder of the Lindsay Literary Agency and has been in publishing for almost 30 years. She worked as a commissioning editor at Macmillan before becoming a literary agent in 2008. Becky’s clients have been published in multiple languages across the world and include the multi-award-winning authors Pamela Butchart, Sue Wallman, Larry Hayes, Louise Finch and Sital Gorasia Chapman.
Louie Stowell
Louie Stowell is UV2026 Honorary Chair. worked in children’s publishing for 15 years before becoming a full-time writer. Her debut novel for children, THE DRAGON IN THE LIBRARY, came out in 2019, followed by two more in the series, THE MONSTER IN THE LAKE and THE WIZARD IN THE WOOD. In 2021 she published OTHERLAND, a middle grade novel (very) loosely based on Spenser’s Faerie Queene, with a touch of Queenie from Blackadder. Translated into 29 languages and counting, Louie’s bestselling and multi-award-winning LOKI: A BAD GOD’S GUIDE series began in 2022 and, if she has anything to do with it, will go on for many years. She also writes short stories and writes and draws comics. Louie lives in Hackney with her wife, Karen and a nameless creepy puppet that is probably cursed.