We’re thrilled to announce the shortlist for 2025’s Book Edit Writers’ Prize, judged this year by acclaimed author Janice Okoh.

These sixteen exceptional novels were selected from a longlist of twenty-four, representing outstanding storytelling and demonstrating the breadth of talent this year.

THE SHORTLISTED WRITERS AND THEIR NOVELS ARE:

A Handful of Grain by Sudhana Singh
Bánh Meet Cute by Sophie Yan Yee Lau
Becoming K. J. Miller by Uduak-Abasi Ekong
City of Storytellers by Shehrazade Zafar-Arif
Fearfully, Wonderfully by Summer Kendrick
Get a Life, Sean Paulson by Louise Tolmie
Infection by Kiah Olowu
Ingredients by Javaria Akbar
Iniono by Esohe Uwadiae
Roots by Kirsty Purnell
Spirit of Endeavour by Matthew Fothergill
The Cursed Detective by Phil Callaghan
Unwritten Ending by Kiah Simpson
When the Cherry Blossom Falls by Susannah Jong-Sook Bond
Witness We Give by Hussein Dookhun
Yoga Homicide by Emma Conally-Barklem

The final winners will be announced next week ahead of a special online showcase on 26 November, where they will read from their work to invited industry guests. The winning entries will also be published in an online anthology following the showcase.

Congratulations to all our shortlisted and longlisted writers – what an achievement!