20 novels are on the longlist. We are delighted with the calibre of entries received. They’ve come in from all over the British Isles as well as further afield from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa and Europe. A wide range of genres: literary, psychological suspense, historical, Y/A, crime, fantasy and comedy are represented. Four of the novels are by men, the majority by women. Our judges, literary agent Eve White and best selling author Saskia Sarginson have a busy summer ahead and we will be announcing our shortlist on September 12. All shortlisted authors will be asked to submit 20,000 words (including the initial entry) by September 19. The winner and runner up will be notified and the result published on our website on October 31 along with the names of all longlisted authors.

The First Novel Award is for rising literary talent with a £1000 cash prize and introduction to literary agent Eve White. The runner up wins a four night writing retreat with Retreats for You and an editorial report. Writers who are unrepresented and unpublished are eligible to enter and submit a synopsis and the first chapter of their novel up to 5000 words.

So with many congratulations to all writers we’re delighted to announce our 2017 longlist:

Half of You

Hannah Backwards

Haunted Pages

Hope and Pluck

Lucas

Missing

Salutation Farm

Shade of the Night Order

SuperTech

Sylvia’s Mother

The Accidental Time Traveller

The Backpacker

The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hurt a Fly

The Price of Truth

The Trauma Pool

The Violinist’s Daughter

The Wrong Guy

Undercut

White Stock

Winter Witness