About
First Stories Prize celebrates picture books — the first stories that shape imagination, empathy, and a lifelong love of reading.
§ Our belief
Picture books are often a child’s first experience with story, character, rhythm, emotion, and imagination. They help shape how children relate to language, art, and reading itself.
Great picture books are deceptively difficult to create. They require precision, restraint, visual awareness, and an understanding of how story functions at a very young age.
The First Stories Prize was created to recognize exceptional work in picture books through a focused, selective evaluation process.
Every submission is evaluated by the DartFrog editorial team. Decisions are based on the quality of the work itself — not publisher size, platform, or prior sales.
§ Our history
First Stories Prize builds on work DartFrog Books has been doing since 2015: evaluating independently published books for quality and reader appeal. DartFrog was the first to develop an evaluation program connecting independent books with bookstores and today serves as Bookclubs.com’s exclusive partner for evaluating independent books for its reader community.
First Stories extends that experience to picture books, with selections made by the DartFrog editorial team based on the quality of the work.