There's something particularly rewarding about watching writers who've been part of The Book Edit Writers' Prize community go on to receive wider recognition for their work. Whether our prize was an early stepping stone or one moment among many in their writing journey, it's wonderful to see how these talented writers continue to flourish and gain the recognition they deserve. I wanted to celebrate those achievements during our 2025 prize submission window.
Joe Eurell has been making waves in the crime writing world, recently winning the prestigious CWA Emerging Dagger Award 2025 for his novel Ashland, which won the Writers’ Prize in 2023.
Joe Eurell
Satinder Chohan has just been announced as a winner of the inaugural RSL Scriptorium Award. The Royal Society of Literature's Scriptorium Award winners were chosen by a specially-convened panel of RSL Fellows who gave priority to ‘writers who do not have their own dedicated writing space and who experience barriers to their literary careers.’
Emma Connally-Barklem has published her poetry collection, Car Office, with Written Off Publishing. Emma has also been selected as one of the core poets for the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival coming to Bradford this autumn. This is a significant platform that celebrates the power of spoken word and performance poetry, and it's wonderful to see Emma gaining this recognition for her work.
Emma Connally-Barklem
Serafina Spicer-Cusack has signed with Sara Langham at David Higham Associates
Serafina Spicer-Cusack
These achievements illustrate the breadth of talent among the writers who've engaged with our prize and how their creative journeys continue to unfold in new and exciting ways.
Who’s Next?
As we continue welcoming submissions for our 2025 prize (deadline October 13th), I'm excited about discovering this year's cohort of talented writers. With Janice Okoh as our judge, I have no doubt we'll find writers ready to continue their own inspiring journeys.