Behind all our winning books is a writer who nearly didn’t send it in. A writer who was out of time, or confidence, or faith that anything might come of submitting it. Bath Novel Award winners recall their doubts about their book’s chances, and what they’d say to anyone hesitating before pressing send. Their experiences are honest, raw and hopeful — and perhaps the nudge you need?
‘My novel won’t get anywhere” ― Kim Sherwood
‘My partner Nick had been urging me to enter since the competition opened and I had been refusing because I didn’t think my novel would get anywhere. On the night of the deadline I was working until about 11pm and was exhausted. Nick said we should send it off and I said there was no point. He said if that was my only reason not to enter, then we had to. He walked me very gently to my computer, got the website up, got the file, and we pressed send just before midnight.’ KIM SHERWOOD won the Bath Novel Award 2016, signed with award judge Susan Armstrong at C+W Literary and Testament was published by Riverrun in 2018.
‘I’d never had much success’ ― Ben Reeves
‘When I scrolled down and saw my name, I cried. It’s a big moment. I’ve been writing seriously for around 15 years and never had much success. To finally have some acknowledgement, to know people enjoyed my work, is deeply satisfying.’ BEN REEVES won the Bath Novel Award 2024, signed with 2025 award judge Laura Williams at Greene and Heaton and Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt publishes with Atlantic (UK) and Simon & Schuster (US) in July 2026.
Riddled with self-doubt’ ― Abi Daré
‘Writing is often solitary. Many times, the journey is riddled with self-doubt, frustration and moments of joyous awe when you finally get a chapter right. To hear a top agent [Felicity Blunt] say she loved my book… there are no words. I couldn’t quite believe it. I literally pinched myself when she was speaking because I was so sure I was dreaming.’ ABI DARÉ won the Bath Novel Award 2018, signed with award judge Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown and The Girl with the Louding Voice was published by Sceptre in 2020.
‘Checking the last box off my list’ ― AP Firdaus
‘They say rejection is part of the writer’s life, and I get that. But after a certain number of eerily similar emails about how much there is to admire in your writing, followed by the dreaded ‘however’, you do reach a point where you just cannot do it again. When I submitted to the Bath Novel Award, I was simply checking the last box off my list. I was never going to look at this manuscript again. And then, this happened. Within a week, agents began to reach out to me. To me!’ AP FIRDAUS won the Bath Novel Award 2021, signed with award judge Julia Silk at Greyhound Literary and Remember Mr Sharma was published by Sceptre in 2023.
‘I don’t stand a chance’ ― Clarissa Goenawan
‘I still remember just a few months ago, my writing mentor had suggested the Bath Novel Award, and I was like, ‘Are you sure? I don’t think I’ll stand a chance,’ and she was like, ‘Why not? You should just send it.’ Thankfully, I listened to her. It’s kind of clichéd, but don’t give up. You never know how close you are.’ CLARISSA GOENAWAN won the Bath Novel Award 2015, signed with Anna Soler-Pont at Pontas Agency and Rainbirds was published by Soho Press in 2019.
‘I almost didn’t enter’ ― Kate Simants
‘I’d kind of always assumed that my style wasn’t literary enough to win a prize as prestigious as the Bath Novel Award. I almost didn’t enter – I had huge reservations about the book and knew it had a lot of problems that I couldn’t work out how to solve. A writer friend texted me a few days before the deadline telling me she’d entered and I just thought, OK, why not?’ KATE SIMANTS won the Bath Novel Award in 2019, is represented by Veronique Baxter at David Higham Associates and A Ruined Girl was published by Viper in 2020.
‘You can never really be sure’ ― Ian Nettleton
‘My year started badly on the writing front – I felt like I was back to square one and got quite fed up about the whole thing. This has completely turned things around. You can never really be sure if you are succeeding until someone reads your writing. I don’t think writers really know how effective their writing can be until they see its effect on a reader. I’ve been a big fan of this award since 2014. It’s amazing to now be one of the winning writers.’ IAN NETTLETON won the Bath Novel Award 2024 with Out of Nowhere which was acquired by SALT Publishing for publication in 2027.
‘I don’t normally win’ ― Sophie Draper
‘That week I was asked to submit the full manuscript after being longlisted, was so full of excitement. Just the thought of the book being read in full was intoxicating. I had to re-read the whole thing and worked like mad getting it as perfect as I could before hitting “send”. But what a motivator. I don’t normally win competitions. Winning has turned everything upside down.’ SOPHIE DRAPER won the Bath Novel Award 2017, signed with 2017 award judge Laura Williams at Greene and Heaton and Cuckoo was published by Harper Collins imprint Avon in 2018.
‘It seemed impossible’ ― Andrew J King
‘When I thought about all the hurdles an entry has to pass to get all the way to ‘last book standing’, it seemed impossible I could pull off an outright win. I was well pleased just to be longlisted, and even more pleased to get into the shortlist. You spend years fantasising and daydreaming, not only about the story, but about the idea that it might get published one day. Then suddenly the world does an odd backflip and fantasy starts to become reality. It was a massive confidence boost.’ ANDREW J KING won the Bath Novel Award in 2020,signed with award judge Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates and The Arrow Garden published with Aderyn Press in 2023.
‘A last roll of the dice’ ― Joanna Barnard
‘When I entered, it felt like a last roll of the dice. I was actually thinking of giving up on sending the manuscript out to agents. I felt like I was at the end of getting rejections and after years of self-editing, I didn’t feel there was much more I could do with it. I remember hesitating about entering, but I’m so glad I did because that decision changed my life.’ JOANNA BARNARD won the inaugural Bath Novel Award in 2014 . Joanna signed with award judge Juliet Mushens and Precocious was published by Ebury in 2015.
‘The thought seemed fantastical’ ― Francesca Robbins
‘The thought that anyone would ever read my book has seemed fantastical over the past few years. On an average day I can only physically type for around half an hour. Writing a novel while pacing is like filling a swimming pool with an egg cup. But the thing is, if you keep going, eventually you do fill the pool up. It just so happened that I finished the manuscript around the same time as the BNA deadline. It’s not an exaggeration to say winning means the world.’ FRANCESCA ROBBINS won the Bath Novel Award in 2022 for Victoriana and accepted representation from 2022 award judge Nelle Andrew of Rachel Mills Literary.
‘I still can’t believe it’ ― Parker Barrington
‘You just have to go for it. I feel it’s one of my greatest accomplishments. I once joked to my wife that I’d write my book and win this competition. Now I still can’t believe it actually happened. If I’d let doubt win, it never would have. It feels like the start of something new and exciting and is a win for our whole family. We can all see that when you go for something, the outcome can be surprising and incredible.’ PARKER BARRINGTON won the Bath Novel Award 2025 with Guardian Angel and signed with Mark Owen Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
There’s no single path to getting published, but time and again writers tell us the same thing: entering the Bath Novel Award was a turning point. If you’re in doubt, let our winners stories be a nudge. You never know where entering might lead.
