Our Writers' Prize alumni are a pretty inspiring bunch and this update is no exception.
Uduak-Abasi Ekong
Uduak-Abasi Ekong, winner of the Book Edit Writers' Prize 2025, has had an outstanding year. She was named runner-up for the inaugural Hilary Mantel Prize for Fiction 2026, and shortlisted for the Women's Prize Discoveries 2026. On top of this, she won first prize in the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize 2026 for her story The Prodigal Father, which appears in the New Short Stories 2026 anthology and was published online by Wasafiri just this week. You can read it here.
It's a remarkable run of recognition, and exactly the kind of trajectory we hope for every writer who comes through our prize. Congratulations, Uduak-Abasi. We can’t wait to see what you do next!
With just three days left to enter this year's prize, we hope her story gives you the final push to submit your own. Entries close 5pm, Friday 16 October!