[2] A group of South Gloucestershire school and public librarians founded the Concorde Book Award in the 2007–2008 school year, with the first award ceremony being held in 2008.
[3] Each year, secondary school students in South Gloucestershire are invited to nominate a recently published book for the award longlist.
[3][4][5] A small panel of librarians selects six books from the longlist to form the Concorde Book Award shortlist, which is announced in early fall.
[3][4][5] Once the shortlist is announced, students may join reading groups at their school or public library to read and discuss the novels on the shortlist, before casting their vote for a winner.
[3][4][5] Voting is held on World Book Day,[6] which is celebrated in March in the United Kingdom, though other countries typically observe it in April.