Luan Goldie‘s ‘fresh, funny story’ (Hannah Moffatt), Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher, has been longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2025.

The prestigious award has been coveted in the children’s writing community for twenty five years and is awarded annually to the author and editor of the year’s outstanding debut novel for children.

See the full longlist and find out more about the award here.

Congratulations, Luan!

K-Pop meets Freaky Friday in a hilarious middle-grade body swap adventure from a Costa-winning author, perfect for fans of Jenny Pearson and David Solomons.

When 11-year-old K-Pop obsessed Skylar inexplicably switches bodies with her super strict 71-year-old headteacher, Ms Callus, she’s thrown into a hilarious world of dancing old ladies gone viral and school rules thrown out the window, as she tries to figure out how on earth to swap back! But then the chance to meet her favourite boyband AZ8 in real life changes everything, and Skylar must decide whether her K-Pop dream come true is worth risking being stuck as an old lady for ever…

Singing with laugh-out-loud moments, this is a joyful and uplifting tale of friendship, fandom and chasing your dreams.

Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher is out now. Grab your copy here or, better, via your local bookshop or Bookshop.org.

Follow Luan Goldie on BlueSky @luangoldie.bsky.social.