The BPA First Novel Award is open to unrepresented and unpublished authors for a novel in any adult fiction genre.
We are excited to announce the winners of the BPA First Novel Award 2022. Our judges this year were literary agents Rowan Lawton and Marina de Pass of The Soho Agency and author Jo Bloom.
More than 950 entries were received from around the world with literary and commercial fiction, including crime, historical and speculative fiction, all represented. The standard of entries was higher than ever and it was difficult to land on a longlist of 23 titles and a shortlist of six.
Congratulations to our winners and to all those listed. We are delighted for this year’s winner, Tracy Coker, who captivated us all with her story of the reunion between three very different friends from Sierra Leone and who is now represented by Rowan Lawton. The judges were also deeply moved by Karen Pierce’s gritty coming-of-age novel, set in 60s Soho, and Tom Powell‘s original novel about the ‘son of Zeus’.
Many thanks to all who entered. We found the reading process incredibly enjoyable, as well as challenging, and wish you all the best with your writing.
Submissions for the 2023 First Novel Award will open in January.