Established in 2013, the Bath Novel Awards are international prizes for emerging novelists. The Bath Novel Award is a £3,000 prize for manuscripts written for adults or young adults and we are delighted to announce 2023’s longlist.
First, our thanks to everyone who entered. The standard of entries was incredibly high and we have loved reading this year’s submissions. We received a record 2,370 manuscripts from authors in 74 countries and this year’s longlistees are based in Asia, Europe and North America.
2023’s list is 30 books strong and includes: adventure; book club; comedy; commercial; crime; detective; dystopian; fantasy; family drama; literary; mystery; psychological thriller; romance; science fiction; speculative; thriller; time slip; western and YA novels.
All longlisted authors win all listees win feedback on their opening pages and synopsis from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy’s editorial director Monica Chakraverty. One longlistee will also win a place worth £1,800 on the acclaimed online editing course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way from longlist prize co-sponsors Professional Writing Academy and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy
As our awards are judged blind, we will be keeping authors’ names under wraps until judging is complete. In the meantime, many congratulations to the authors of this year’s 30 standout manuscripts.
| A Tale of Two Parties |
| Afire |
| After the Rain, Earth Hardens |
| All The Words Unsaid |
| Coffee |
| Digging Deep |
| Fallen |
| Gin Lane |
| Goldfields |
| Hook & Dagger |
| How to Marrie a Rich Man |
| In Solidarity |
| Light at the End of the Fjord |
| Lovebird |
| My Family, Decomposed |
| Out of Nowhere |
| Parachute Silk |
| Sailing Over Bones |
| Silverfern |
| Small Town Echoes of Metallic Minds |
| Social Vampire |
| Strange Eden |
| The Girl With The Light Eyes |
| The House Between Time |
| The Lost Detective |
| The Show Woman |
| Three Steps of the Sun |
| Trad Wives |
| Truth Like Water |
| Zella |
A shortlist will be announced at 10:00 BST on July 31st. The winning manuscript, as judged by Kate Barker will be announced in September 2023.