We’re thrilled to announce the 2026 shortlist for Discoveries. These six talented writers have been shortlisted from the longlist of sixteen, taken from a record-breaking number of 3,216 entries, and chosen for the quality and promise shown in 10,000 words and a synopsis of their novel-in-progress.
Each writer skilfully draws from their intimate personal histories and interests, infused with imagination, telling stories that reach across time, space and topics: immersing us in literary thriller, mythological reimagining, subverted fantasy, and body horror; transporting us to 1990s Kashmir, sixteenth-century Scotland and the folklore of West Africa; questioning power structures and the status quo, interrogating human-inflicted environmental decay, and examining alienation and othering.
Discoveries is our popular and pioneering writer development programme and prize run in partnership with Audible, Curtis Brown, and the Curtis Brown Creative writing school, that inspires unagented and unpublished women in the UK and Ireland to write their first novels. Free to enter, the programme reaches out to and supports women at all stages of their writing journey, providing a roster of resources filled with a range of practical advice, motivation and industry insight with an ongoing commitment to engage writers currently underrepresented in the UK publishing industry.
The shortlisted authors are (in alphabetical order by surname):
- Mirha Butt, Notes From The Valley of Unclaimed Daughters
- Uduak-Abasi Ekong, Welcome Back, Darling
- Melissa Oliver-Powell, Sea-Mouth
- Jo O’Neill, The Peat Cutter’s Wife
- Sithara Ranasinghe, The Spare
- Ruixi Zhang, Confessions of an Alien
Find out more about them here.
The 2026 shortlist, along with the ten writers on this year’s longlist, join an impressive Discoveries alumni community celebrating landmark success. In the first five years of the programme, alumni have achieved an impressive number of deals and publications: between 2024 and mid-2026 six Discoveries authors have published their debut novels and eleven further authors are set to publish their debuts between now and 2027. Out of 80 longlisted alumni, 40% (32) authors have agents and 21% (17) have book deals, with many others still working on their novels.
The 2026 judging panel is chaired by Kate Mosse CBE FRSL, the international bestselling writer and Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. She is joined by award-winning and global bestselling author Dorothy Koomson (My Best Friend’s Girl, The Ice Cream Girls and The Woman He Loved Before); peacebuilding practitioner and 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlisted author Dr Nussaibah Younis (Fundamentally); Curtis Brown literary agent Ciara Finan; and Founder and Managing Director of Curtis Brown Creative, Anna Davis.
It has been so hard to select just six writers from our excellent longlist of sixteen. This year, we were blown away by the imagination, the ambition and the fresh perspectives highlighted in this wonderful range of work. As a new cohort of talented writers become part of the Discoveries family, we are also celebrating the success of authors previously longlisted and shortlisted. On behalf of my fellow judges, huge congratulations to this exceptional shortlist. We all – the Women’s Prize Trust, Curtis Brown, Curtis Brown Creative and Audible – are very proud to play a part in providing tangible support and resources to emerging writers and help their stories find the readership they deserve.”
Kate Mosse CBE FRSL, the international bestselling writer and Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
Judging Discoveries is always a real privilege. This year, we’ve loved the way our shortlisted writers have blended and subverted genre, twisting the familiar into something new and unique. They’ve explored compelling themes, expanded imaginations, and taken us on remarkable journeys. Beyond the final six, all of our longlisted writers are exceptionally talented – and 2026’s record number of entries has been a box of delights for our reading team. We encourage everyone to keep writing, and are already looking forward to Discoveries 2027!”
Anna Davis, Curtis Brown Creative, and Ciara Finan, Curtis Brown
At Audible, we believe the future of storytelling begins with supporting writers at the very start of their journey. Discoveries represents everything we value – championing diverse voices, nurturing raw talent, and creating pathways into an industry that has too often been closed to many. This shortlist showcases extraordinary storytelling that demands to be heard, and we’re proud to help these writers develop their craft and understand the unique power of audio. These are the voices that will shape publishing’s future, and we’re honoured to be part of their journey from the very beginning.”
Aurelie de Troyer, Head of Content, International at Audible
The shortlist of six authors (including the winner and scholar) will each be offered a one-to-one mentoring session with a Curtis Brown Group agent plus a free place on a six-week Curtis Brown Creative course of their choice, as well as an invitation to a studio day at Audible to learn more about audiobook writing and production.
The winner of Discoveries 2026 will receive an offer of representation from The Curtis Brown Group and £5,000; one promising writer, named the ‘Discoveries Scholar’, will win a free scholarship to attend a three-month Writing Your Novel course with Curtis Brown Creative (worth £2,000).
The winner and scholar will be announced on 28 May 2026 – sign up to the Women’s Prize newsletter below to be the first to hear up-to-date news on Discoveries!
