We’re delighted to share the 2026 longlist.
Abigail Williams – Wink
Charlie Allen – Nobody’s War
Gareth Molan – Doggerland
Jacqueline Kavanagh – Strangers for Breakfast
Joanne Coyle – His Brother’s Wife
Joe Bray – Forging Forwards
Josh Rees – The Water’s End
Julian Johnson – BitterSweet
Katy Gullestrup – Before it Ends Again
Kevin Roddy – Pumps
Liz Isaacs – The Lucas Lie
M.J. Hines – Earnest
Mark Brandon – Harmless
Matthew Pike – Aloha & Ray
Misty McLaughlin – An Accord of Clades
Naomi de Pear – Runt
S.K. Powell – Mala Magistra
S.L. Harris – Buckle
Vincent Liu – Ultramarine
Wayne Middleton – The Snow & Shade
Congratulations to all our 2026 longlisted entrants!
Thank you to all the writers who sent us their entries. With an ever increasing number of entries, narrowing the field was never going to be easy. The consistently high quality of the writing made the task harder still.
The 2026 shortlist will be published on the 31st of August and the winners will be announced by the end of September.