Originators, the Women’s Prize Trust’s new mentorship and development program for emerging women fiction writers from across the United States, presented by CHANEL, is open for applications until Monday, November 30, 2026, at 6:59 PM (EST).
Emerging, unpublished novelists from across the U.S. are invited to apply by submitting a writing sample of 5,000 words, a synopsis, and information about themselves, for the chance to be one of five finalists chosen to benefit from a bespoke mentorship program designed to support their professional and artistic development.
Here, the inaugural selection panel – Chair A.M. Homes, Virginia Evans, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Tayari Jones and Nicole Krauss – share the qualities that will make an application stand out.
Someone adventurous, passionate about their work, taking risks within their work and exploring questions of identity, history, and culture.”
A.M. Homes (Chair)
I want to read material that has that spark of life in it, energy and a voice of its own. I’m looking for a sense of movement in the work so that the pages are pulling me forward. When I’m reading, I’m always looking for the draw of the story and a voice that feels original, fascinating and fresh.”
Virginia Evans
A strong and original voice that stays with me long after I have closed the manuscript.”
V.V. Ganeshananthan
I’m looking for someone who wants to tell a good story. I want to get to know a person who wants to build a body of work and cultivate an audience rather than build a brand. I guess I’m old fashioned in that way.”
Tayari Jones
A writer willing to take risks, whose prose channels both thoughtfulness and charisma. A writer attuned to the musicality of language, who believes in the possibility of work that doesn’t sacrifice either feeling or intellect, but sees how both are powerful and necessary.”
Nicole Krauss
