Birdie Bagshaw has never known her parents. Having grown up in a children's home for mixed race children in 1950s Leeds, now she has come to live with her great-aunt in the Yorkshire Dales. From her arrival, Birdie is treated like an outsider by the local children. When their bullying drives Birdie to hide in the nearby coal mine, she finds an unexpected rescuer in the form of Mr Duke, the last remaining pit pony in the village. As the weeks pass, Birdie forms a special bond with the spirited little pony. But his future is in danger, and Birdie comes up with a daring plan to save his life… 

- Browns Books Synopsis

The bright idea came about when Abiola was looking up book awards for diverse books and only found one, despite the conversations about more diversity in books. She shared the idea with Helen who backed it and they agreed it has to be UK based to celebrate the amazing talent that we have. Whilst Abiola was trying to think of a clever awards name, Helen said, “Why not keep it simple and call it The Diverse Book Awards?" 

The Diverse Book Awards are open to anyone who has written a book for children, young adults and adult. Fiction only and UK based authors that features Black, Asian, Latin American and and/or inclusive main characters.