Published Date: 18/02/2026
We’re delighted to announce the names of the 23 writers who have been selected for the 2026 London Writers Awards. The programme has returned for a sixth year thanks to a generous philanthropic donation by Sam and Rosie Berwick. Founding partners are the Independent Publishers Guild and the Society of Authors, this year’s sponsors are Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, David High Associates, KAB Literary and Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency.
The full list of London Writers Award winners is:
- Literary Fiction: Alex Luke, Ashe McKenzie, Ike Olu, Kyle Austin Kruse, Leila Taheri, Liane Wimhurst, Miranda Horn, Moi Lanne Wetzel-Liao, Nash Colundalur, Natasha Samrai, Sophie Stanley, Suman Sandhu.
- Commercial Fiction: C.M. Ashbourn, Felix C. Bill, Laurie Kirwan-Ashman, Liam Scanlon, Lola Pereira, Nasima Ali.
- YA/Children’s Fiction: Laura Jamieson, Nafisa Rahimi, Natalie Clark, Nathanael Wheatcroft-Brown, Nicola J. Maher.
The 23 writers begin with a Writers’ Lab on Saturday 21 February. Over the course of ten months, the award recipients will: attend fortnightly critical feedback groups to grow and develop their work; participate in nine masterclasses led by writers and industry professionals; attend two Writers Labs, one with peers, judges and programme alumni and another with editors, publishers and agents; and receive a variety of bespoke development opportunities with editors, agents and the London Writers Centre team.
All Awardees will receive 1-2-1 professional development sessions with members of the London Writers Centre team to support their development whilst on the programme. Information about the Awardees’ projects will be distributed to over 400 agents and editors.
Tom Newlands, 2026 judge, says: “I’m really thrilled to have been a judge for this year’s London Writers Awards. It has been a privilege to read such an impressive collection of work and so heartening to see the competition attract such a wide range of voices. The standard was astonishing – fearless, affecting, and full of heart. As an alumnus of the programme I know how transformative it is, so it’s very exciting to imagine the journeys these writers are about to embark on!”
Sam Berwick, philanthropist and funder of the 2026 London Writers Awards, says: “Rosie and I are excited to support the London Writers Awards into a sixth year. Over the last four years we have been impressed with the vital work London Writers Centre has done to foster the careers of writers from backgrounds that remain underrepresented in UK publishing. We look forward to supporting this mission and kindly call on other individuals and foundations to join us in growing projects like the London Writers Awards.”
Ruth Harrison, Director of London Writers Centre, comments: “We are delighted to be welcoming a new cohort of writers to this year’s London Writers Awards. Sustained and accessible development opportunities are essential to ensuring we get to read and hear the stories writers want to tell from across our communities. This commitment is needed more than ever, and we welcome conversations on how we can increase the support and opportunities available to writers from underrepresented backgrounds in publishing.”
About the London Writers Awards
The London Writers Awards is the UK’s most successful development programme for writers from communities underrepresented in UK publishing. To date, 51 alumni have been agented and 41 writers have had at least one book deal as a result of participating in the programme. The London Writers Awards has launched the careers of, amongst others: Natasha Brown, Oisín McKenna, Cecile Pin, Tice Cin, Ashani Lewis, Emma Lowther, Tom Newlands, and Santanu Bhattacharya whose second novel Deviants has been longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2026.
Originally launched in 2018, the programme ran for 4 years and supported 120 writers. In 2021, the London Writers Awards was cited by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Diversity as an exemplary writer development programme.
This iteration of the programme will support up to 24 unagented and unpublished London writers of Literary, Commercial and YA/Children’s Fiction each year from 2025 to 2027. The annual 10-month programme is free to participate in and offers bursary and access funds.
Learn more about the London Writers Awards 2026 winners
Published: 18 February 2026
