First Novel Award 2026 Shortlist Announcement

This is it: which of the 22 longlisted titles were selected for the shortlist?

It is one of the most difficult moments of a competition, the moment when our judges, literary agent Olivia Maidment and author Freya Bromley, have to agree on just five authors to make it through.

Our five shortlisted titles are:

Comets

Gold, Kimchi and Yellow Silk

Loch Assynt

Observation Error

She Walked On Water

These five shortlisted authors will be sending an additional 15,000 words for the judges to read before they decide on a winner and a runner-up.

The winner and runner-up will be announced in October, alongside our two other awards: the BPA Most Promising Talent Award, which is given to one FNA entrant who may not make the shortlist but who we at BPA believe shows great potential, and the Bookseller's Choice Award, judged by Bàrd Books owner, Vicki Shenkin Kerr, who will select the novel she would most like to see on her shelves.

Here is a reminder of our prizes:

Winner: £1,500 + Agent Introduction 

Runner-up: £500 + Agent Introduction

Most Promising Talent: £250

Bookseller's Choice: £50 cash prize + a bespoke bundle of books.

We congratulate our longlisted authors for making it this far. Many factors come into selecting a longlist and shortlist, but we can say with confidence that being longlisted is a huge achievement in itself, and that many of our longlisted authors go on to develop successful writing careers.

If you wish to take your manuscript to the next level, we're giving £50 off all reports, including our submission package reviews, until 30 September. We'll also offer a special report on your First Novel Award submission (opening 5,000 words, cover letter and synopsis) for £199.

Send an email to info@bluepencilagency.com to benefit from these special offers.

BPA partner Frances has also written a blog with some feedback on what makes a submission stand out from the hundreds of other entries, based on her experience reading this year's competition.

We look forward to sharing all our winners in the autumn, and in the meantime our Short Story Award will close Sunday 13 September and the Pitch Prize will open at the beginning of September. We also hope to meet you at one of our autumn events — to be revealed very soon!