The Women's Prize Trust has announced the highly anticipated 2026 shortlist for Discoveries, the pioneering writer development programme and prize that champions unagented and unpublished women across the UK and Ireland.
Programme Details and Judging Panel
Run in partnership with Audible, Curtis Brown, and the Curtis Brown Creative writing school, the initiative seeks to support emerging talent at all stages of their literary journey. This year, judges selected just six promising writers from a record-breaking 3,216 entries, evaluating each submission on the strength of a 10,000-word excerpt and a novel synopsis.
The 2026 judging panel is chaired by international bestselling author and Women's Prize Founder Director Kate Mosse CBE FRSL, who brings decades of literary leadership to the selection process. She is joined by an expert team including global bestseller Dorothy Koomson, peacebuilding practitioner and 2025 Women's Prize shortlisted author Dr Nussaibah Younis, Curtis Brown agent Ciara Finan, and Curtis Brown Creative founder Anna Davis.
The Six Shortlisted Authors
The six shortlisted authors, celebrated for their exceptional promise, are Mirha Butt for Notes From The Valley of Unclaimed Daughters, Uduak-Abasi Ekong for Welcome Back, Darling, and Melissa Oliver-Powell for Sea-Mouth. Joining them on the shortlist are Jo O'Neill with The Peat Cutter's Wife, Sithara Ranasinghe with The Spare, and Ruixi Zhang with Confessions of an Alien.
These talented writers expertly weave personal histories with vivid imagination, traversing a diverse array of genres including literary thrillers, mythological reimagining, subverted fantasy, and body horror. Their narratives transport readers across vast settings, from 1990s Kashmir and sixteenth-century Scotland to the folklore of West Africa, whilst tackling profound themes of environmental decay, alienation, and power structures.
Programme Success and Alumni Achievements
The announcement comes amidst remarkable success for the Discoveries alumni community. In the five years since the programme's inception, 40% of the 80 longlisted authors have secured agents, and 21% have achieved book deals. Between 2024 and mid-2026, six alumni published debut novels, with eleven more scheduled to publish by 2027.
The programme has a proven track record of launching careers, with previous shortlisted authors achieving significant critical and commercial success. For instance, 2022 shortlistee Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin's debut Ordinary Saints won the PFD Queer Fiction Prize and was nominated for the prestigious Dublin Literary Award, while 2021 winner Emma van Straaten's dark thriller debut This Immaculate Body (published as Creep in the US) earned widespread acclaim from major publications including Vogue and The Times.
Judge and Partner Comments
Kate Mosse CBE FRSL, international bestselling author and chair of the judging panel, praised the high calibre of this year's submissions: "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."
Sharing this enthusiasm, Anna Davis of Curtis Brown Creative and Curtis Brown literary agent Ciara Finan added: "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!"
Prizes and Next Steps
Each of the six shortlisted authors will receive a one-to-one mentoring session with a Curtis Brown agent, a free place on a six-week Curtis Brown Creative course, and an exclusive studio day at Audible to explore audiobook production.
The overall winner of Discoveries 2026 will receive £5,000 and an offer of representation from The Curtis Brown Group. Additionally, one promising writer will be named the Discoveries Scholar, winning a scholarship for a three-month novel-writing course. The final winner and scholar will be revealed on 28 May 2026.
