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Longlist 2026
We’re thrilled to announce our Longlist for 2026. This year, we received more than 1,100 entries from around the world and across genres. The stories represented here captivated our judges with their creativity and turn of phrase. Congratulations to those featured here.
To those not on this list: Winning a competition means nothing about the quality of your writing. Like everything else in life, this is a highly subjective process. We hope entering inspired you to polish your pages and focus on your writing. Keep going!
Longlist
(alphabetical by surname)
Marrow - Dana Baylous (Literary Fiction)
Darling Girl - Victoria Brown (Crime or Thriller)
The Collectors - Morag Allan Campbell (Science Fiction)
Better Bird - Helen Chown (Memoir/Narrative Non-Fiction)
The Swan - Michael Clarke (Crime or Thriller)
After the Sensible Years - Shelley Dark (Memoir/Narrative Non-Fiction)
Written Out - Zoe Dunkley (Commercial Fiction)
Unsigned - William Edmonds (Literary Fiction)
The Fridge - Angela Edward (Memoir/Narrative Non-Fiction)
Dogboys - Harri Ellington (Crime or Thriller)
Liquid Crystal - Susan Evans (Historical Fiction)
The Actually Young Widows Support Group - Tilney Fitzpatrick (Memoir/Narrative Non-Fiction)
The Random Trajectory of a Lime-Green Camaro - Sara Fraser (Literary Fiction)
Bottleneck - Robin Wilkey Gregory (Crime or Thriller)
The Brown Paper Bag Kids - Heather Jacks (Memoir/Narrative Non-Fiction)
You Deserve This - Omina Jagusah (Literary Fiction)
Martha's World - Helga Kent (Memoir/Narrative Non-Fiction)
Pair Bonding - Stella Krall (Literary Fiction)
Saints of Western New York - Sonja Livingston (Literary Fiction)
The Cunning Killdeer - Joel Martin (Crime or Thriller)
Witchcraft - Ann-Kathrin Paitz (Fantasy)
The Donut Dilemma - Jed Richardson (Commercial Fiction)
For Sins That Have Been - Berit Furholt Rinnan (Fantasy)
Sounds of Leaving - Damien Roos (Literary Fiction)
The House With Half a Heart - Rachel Westerwelle (Crime or Thriller)
The Arcadians - Sydni Zastre (Literary Fiction)