The Bath Novel Awards are annual international prizes for unagented emerging writers. The Bath Novel Award is a £5,000 prize for adult and YA novels and we are delighted to announce 2025’s winner and listees.
The prize was open for submissions from December 2024 through May 2025. We received a record number of 2,901 entries and were blown away by the standard.
A 19-strong longlist was announced in June, which included entries by authors in Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, the UK and USA. The full manuscripts of these novels were then considered for the shortlist, which was announced in July.
Our heartfelt thanks to literary agent Laura Williams for her wise and careful consideration of this year’s shortlist and judgement of the overall winning manuscript.
Judge’s Comments: “Guardian Angel is exactly the kind of crime novel I love, with atmospheric landscapes and intimate character portraits, all capped with a truly startling twist. I was completely drawn in by the polyphonic nature of the narrative, weaving in perspectives from all walks of life in a small Pennsylvanian town, creating not just a pacy crime novel, but also a rich and layered portrait of a community and the conflicts that lie beneath the surface.” – LAURA WILLIAMS
Parker Barrington’s life began with a journey. He grew up aboard a sailboat, crossing oceans while listening to his father’s funny, spooky, and sometimes strange stories—tales that sparked a lifelong passion for storytelling.
Today, Parker lives in Denmark with his family. His taste in fiction ranges from light-hearted adventures to dark, unsettling mysteries, but at the heart of every story is his love for characters who feel real, flaws and all.
The idea for Guardian Angel came during a fevered spell in bed with the flu. Drifting between dreams and wakefulness, Parker set an intention—asking his subconscious, perhaps even the universe, which story he was meant to tell. The answer arrived, clear and insistent. As soon as he was well, he began to write in the hush of a sleeping house.
Guardian Angel is a haunting crime mystery about memory, obsession, and the shadows that linger when justice is left undone. It is the first in a trilogy that he is eager to share.
Judge’s Comments: “Now You’re Here is a poignant and deeply moving story of a woman whose life has been shaped by loss – until one day her estranged grandson walks back into it. As Anna confronts her fears about her past mistakes and the choices still to be made, this novel unfolds into a tender and gentle meditation on the small moments that ultimately define a life. There’s some really exquisite writing here, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.” – LAURA WILLIAMS
Vivien Graveson’s love of writing began in school, when she won a Cadbury’s poetry prize – sparking two lifelong passions: words and chocolate. She went on to work as a journalist before teaching English and Philosophy of Religion, later returning to her first love by completing an MA and PhD in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway.
Her debut novel, Now You’re Here, grew out of a conversation with one of her grandsons about “infinite worlds” in which all possibilities exist at once. Drawing on her long-standing fascination with philosophy, psychology, and the “what ifs” of life, Vivien weaves these themes together with her interest in family relationships, hidden secrets, and the fear of facing the truth.
She lives in Suffolk with her husband, their miniature schnauzer Nellie, and four noisy hens.
Judge’s Comments: “This was a tremendously tense read. The protagonist has all the sensibilities of a classic detective hero, as he’s drawn away from his own domestic turmoil and thrust into a situation that rapidly spirals out of control – but he’s recast in the high-stakes world of crisis management consultancy, making this a truly of-the-moment novel. It delivers striking and memorable scenes, and the clever twists kept me hooked to the end.” – LAURA WILLIAMS
Warrick Harniess is a London native now based in California’s Bay Area, where he helps scientists turn their research into companies. A lifelong storyteller, he has been writing songs for over twenty years and published a book on management in 2020. He writes crime fiction—a genre he has loved since devouring The Hardy Boys as a child.
The Eichlers is a twisty mystery that delves into the ripple effects of murder on families. The story was inspired by two real crimes: the unsolved “French Alps killings” of a family from Claygate, Surrey, and the home-invasion murder of a teenage girl in Irvine, California, one of the Golden State Killer’s victims. For Warrick, the connection is personal: his brother lives in Claygate, and he first met his wife in Irvine. With the Golden State Killer’s shadow still looming over the Bay Area, even his father-in-law keeps PVC rods wedged in his windows as protection against intruders. Warrick writes from that place of empathy—for fear, vulnerability, and the haunting aftershocks of violence.
Judge’s Comments: “I was constantly surprised by this ambitious and pacy thriller. The twists and turns were enormous fun and it has a true cinematic feel in its very visual storytelling. I’ve always loved the trope of an everyman falling quickly out of his depth, and it’s pulled off with real flair in The Toll Collector, as Vincent’s compelling and likeable voice draw the reader in from the start.” – LAURA WILLIAMS
Adam David Russ has lived a life of many chapters. He grew up across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States before earning degrees from Virginia Tech. His career has taken him from serving as a Peace Corps volunteer to working as an international economist, and today he teaches secondary school in Northern California.
When he isn’t in the classroom, Adam can often be found on the coast with his wife, son, and Schnauzer, or trekking the High Sierras.
The spark for The Toll Collector came while navigating Bay Area traffic. Stuck in line, Adam noticed a toll worker whose speed and precision stood out from the rest. Despite his uncanny knack for always picking the slowest lane, that day he ended up in the fastest one. The moment sparked not only admiration for a job well done, but also the creation of a protagonist. A short story inspired by that idea went on to win a Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Award in the Thriller/Suspense category.
Adam is a firm believer in the magic of good writing groups and credits a community of talented, generous, and brutally honest writers for helping shape his work.
POLLY CHECKLAND wins the CLC / PWA Longlist Prize, which is awarded for the most promising longlisted manuscript. Polly wins a place on the eighteen week course Edit Your Novel from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and the Professional Writing Academy, worth £1,980.
Judging comments: “Struggling actress Gemma is a sympathetic protagonist and there’s an easy rhythm to the prose that makes it feel effortless.” – Monica Chakraverty, Editorial Director and Head of Scouting at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.
2025 Longlisted
| Aurora Adams | Ten Walks in the Eastern Pyrenees |
| Parker Barrington | Guardian Angel |
| Leigh H Bravo | A Pocket Full of Posies |
| Fiona Clarke | Doves Rise |
| AJ Davage | Between Us Three and the Sea |
| Zenia Dimitrakopoulou | The Last Vermeer |
| Uduak-Abasi Ekong | Becoming "KJ Miller" |
| Vivien Graveson | Now You're Here |
| Polly Harding | Scenes of a Disturbing Nature |
| Warrick Harniess | The Eichlers |
| Katherine Hurst | Finding Frieda |
| Dexter Hutt | The Mantra |
| Suzanne Hutt and Natan Hason | Night Embers |
| John Kennedy | Siren |
| Jane Labous | The Paradise Club |
| Sandra Nicholls | The Hermit |
| Rachel Rowlinson | Seastroke |
| Adam David Russ | The Toll Collector |
| Tamsin Hope Thomson | The Outsider |
