Publishers of picture books released in 2025 are invited to submit their works for consideration for the 2026 Margaret Wise Brown Prize in Children’s Literature. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 30, 2026.
Presented annually, the Margaret Wise Brown Prize recognizes the author of the best text for a picture book published during the previous year. The award is a tribute to one of Hollins University’s best-known alumnae (class of 1932) and one of America’s most beloved children’s authors. Winners receive a $1,000 cash prize, which comes from an endowed fund created by James “Pebbles” Rockefeller Jr., Brown’s fiancé at the time of her death. Each recipient also receives an engraved award and an invitation to accept the honor and present a reading on campus during the summer session of Hollins’ graduate programs in children’s literature.
Judges for the 2025 prize are:
- Ashley Belote, author-illustrator of “Witch & Wombat,” “The Me Tree” and more, and illustrator coordinator for the SCBWI Carolinas chapter.
- Deborah Hopkinson, award-winning author of more than 80 children’s books; recipient of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and Green Earth Environmental Award; and 2025 MWB Prize honor winner.
- Eugene Yelchin, National Book Award finalist, Newbery Honor winner and SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner.
Publishers should submit four copies of each book they wish to nominate for the Margaret Wise Brown Prize: one copy to Hollins University and one copy to each of the three judges. Books must have been first published in 2025; reprints and translations are not eligible. The winner will be announced in May 2026.
Please contact Dr. Elizabeth “e” Dulemba, director of Hollins’ graduate programs in children’s literature and illustration, at dulembaeo@hollins.edu for the judges’ addresses and further submission instructions.
The study of children’s literature as a scholarly discipline began at Hollins in 1973, and the graduate program in children’s literature was founded in 1992. Today, Hollins offers M.A. and M.F.A. programs exclusively in the study and writing of children’s literature, an M.F.A. in children’s book writing and illustrating and a graduate-level certificate in children’s book illustration. In spring 2026 the program will transition to a year-round low residency model.
