Bookbuzz useful information and FAQs

Registration for Bookbuzz is now open – sign up here.

Yes, when you register for Bookbuzz you are committing to take part in the programme and pay the amount stated during the registration process – an invoice is generated at the point of registration.

We ask for an estimate that is as accurate as possible so we can place initial orders with publishers. Registration is open until 19 September 2025 so you can wait until then to register, if at that stage you will have a clearer idea of student numbers.

Some schools may prefer to register for a few extra students as any books that you don’t need for students can be used by the library or English department.

Alternatively, if you have more students than expected, please contact us before you place your final order of books and we will increase your student numbers, subject to stock being available. A minimum increase of five students (£17.75) will apply and payment must be made before you can place your whole order.

Please note: we will not be able to issue refunds if you have fewer than expected students in September.

Yes as long as you haven’t yet paid the invoice you may be able to amend the number of students. You must notify us in writing by emailing [email protected]. We will then cancel your registration and invoice and you will need to re-register.

If you have more students than expected, please contact us before you place your final order of books and we will increase your student numbers, subject to stock being available. A minimum increase of five students (£17.75) will apply.

Please contact us to confirm additional students as we will need to place orders with the publishers.

Requests for orders placed after this deadline will be looked at individually, based on available stock.

Please note, payment must be received for the additional students before you can place your order.

You can amend your address details by completing a form during the registration and ordering process. This will then be reviewed and approved by the team but it won’t stop you from registering/​ordering.

If you have already registered/​ordered but want to change your delivery address, please contact [email protected] so the team can amend your records. Please do this within 12 hours of ordering to avoid your order being sent to the wrong address.

If you have already registered, you can let us know your new address details by emailing [email protected].

Please contact us as soon as possible by emailing [email protected] with the details of your current school name/​address and new school name/​address, and date that the change will happen, so that we can ensure your launch pack and order are sent to the correct address in the autumn.

If you have fewer than 35 students, you can still register for Bookbuzz, but the minimum registration number is 35 students so you will still need to register for 35 students. This is a great opportunity to give more books to students and encourage them to build a collection of books. Why not order more than one book for each student instead, invite staff to take part, or order extra copies of books for your school library?

An invoice will automatically be generated and emailed to the person stated as the invoice contact at the time of registration. We recommend you download the invoice and print it off immediately.

The invoice can be paid by BACS, cheque or credit card. Full payment instructions are included on the invoice.

Alternatively, you can pay by credit card over the phone by calling us on 020 7801 8800. You will then be sent an order acknowledgment confirming payment has been received.

Final payment deadline is 19 September 2025.

Payment in advance is required in order to enable BookTrust to place the large orders with publishers and other suppliers that are necessary to keep the cost of Bookbuzz at £3.55 per student.

In addition, almost all of the Bookbuzz books are printed specifically for Bookbuzz so it’s crucial that we can accurately forecast the number of students that are going to be taking part.

An invoice will automatically be generated and emailed to the person stated as the invoice contact at the time of registration. We recommend you download the invoice and print it off immediately.

If you can’t download your invoice please contact us by emailing [email protected].

Please note, if you make payment by card as part of the registration process you will receive an order acknowledgement confirming payment and the order has been received.

The Bookbuzz books for 2025 will be announced on 1 May. 

The Bookbuzz books are chosen by an independent panel of experts, including school librarians, teachers and reading advocates.

We invite a range of publishers to submit the titles that they think would be appropriate for the Bookbuzz list. Of the titles we receive, we select a long list of books for our selection panel to consider.

The panel then read all the books, and gather opinions from 11 to 13-year-olds, before selecting a final list that reflects a variety of genres, styles and reading levels.

Bookbuzz books are selected with the needs of both Year 7 and Year 8 students in mind.

The books are chosen purely on their individual merit, regardless of publisher. A wide range of publishers are invited to submit books for consideration; any publisher who wishes to submit titles should contact us and we will add them to our list.

Yes, Bookbuzz is open to Special Schools.

It is also recognised that some children participating in the programme will have additional specific needs. With this in mind, we offer many of the books on the list in both Braille and large print. If you have a student who would benefit from a Braille or large print edition of a Bookbuzz book, please email us.

The list of titles available in Braille or large print will be available to logged-in Bookbuzz coordinators. (coordinators area will be available from September).

No, all Bookbuzz books are selected with the needs of both Year 7 and Year 8 students in mind. All 16 titles will be available for both Year 7 and Year 8 students to order.

All Bookbuzz orders must be placed online. To order you will need to log-in to your account in the coordinators’ area using your username (email address) and password that you have set up during registration. From there you will be clearly directed to where you can place your order.

Ordering opens on 8 September 2025.

The final date for ordering will be 17 October 2025.

As long as you order by the deadline of early September, your books will be with you no later than the end of the autumn term. Orders placed after the deadline will be placed into a priority queue.

Schools who do not place their orders will receive a selection of Bookbuzz titles in the new year.

When your books have been dispatched you will receive an email to let you know they are on their way and should be with you within 48 hours.

Your books will be delivered in boxes clearly marked with the Bookbuzz logo and addressed to the named Bookbuzz coordinator.

Yes, but you must contact us and pay for your additional students before you can place your order. We will be able to generate an invoice for the additional students, subject to stock availability. A minimum increase of five students (£17.75) will apply.

Please email [email protected].

The element of choice is central to Bookbuzz and our research has found that students say they are more likely to read a book if they have chosen it themselves. We would therefore urge you to allow your students to choose their books for themselves.

To make collecting your students’ choices easier we provide a bookmark for every student on which they can make their selection, a class order form and a spreadsheet which coordinators can use to collate the orders.

You can reset your password on the log-in page – click ​‘Forgotten your password’ and enter your registered email address and a new password will be emailed to you.

If you have any problems, please email [email protected] with the subject line ​‘Forgotten username’.

BookTrust encourages all orders to be placed by the closing date at the end of October to ensure students receive their first choice. We will do our best to fulfil orders placed after this deadline but schools may be offered a different title if the first choice isn’t available. We will send a selection of books to schools who haven’t ordered but BookTrust will advise schools when this will happen.

Please contact us as soon as possible if books are missing from your order. Please email [email protected] and let us know which books are missing and if you have received any extras by mistake. Please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order, based on the signatory date, so we can replace your titles as soon as possible. Schools that contact us after 14 days will be looked at individually, based on the available stock.

Please contact us immediately via email (within 12 hours) if the order has been placed incorrectly. We will do all we can to amend your order before it gets sent to the warehouse. Once it has been sent to the warehouse, we will be unable to amend the order.

If you have received your order and realised you’ve made a mistake please contact us at [email protected].

Launch packs will contain:

• Two sets of the 16 Bookbuzz books
• Two Bookbuzz posters to promote the programme in school
• A bookmark for each participating student
• A guide to using Bookbuzz, including tips on how to launch the programme at your school, what to do while you wait for your books to arrive and how you can keep the buzz for books going across the school year.

Launch packs will be sent out in September onwards.