The judges and the organisers are delighted to announce the innaugural longlist in the First Novel Prize.
Sarah Haynes – The Last Time She Saw Him
Lottie Westgate – Rosemary Spencer AI PI
Jane Keightley – With Every Secret
Lucy Williams – The Wreck
Michael Fleming – No More Bets
Nicola Mira – Hydra
Colette Hill – Making it Home
Joanna Knight – Ghosts in the Nursery
Jessica Douglas – On my Mind
Anthony Streeter – The Terrible Gift of Sentience and Sorrow
Heidi Marjamäki – The Custodian
Jeffery Stephens – The Betrothed
Gregory Aboujaoude – How to Survive Mount Lebanon
Juliet Thomas – 31 Milton Road
Chen Zhongzhi – Empire
David Flynn – Dead Dad
Moyette Gibbons – God and the Blues
Roger Grant – Gray Matter
Jason McIntyre – Two-Niner
Rosie Bray – Semi-detached
Congratulations to all all our longlisted novelists. We look forward to announcing the shortlist at the end of August 2025.