Bookouture is to host the Mo Siewcharran Prize 2026 to help discover unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and/or multiple ethnic backgrounds. We are looking for page-turning commercial fiction within the genres of psychological thriller and romantic fiction.
Run as part of Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf scheme, the Prize was launched in 2019.
Criteria for entry:
Entrants must be unagented and previously unpublished, aged 18 or over, resident in the UK and from a Black, Asian, mixed heritage and/or multiple ethnic background.
Entry requirements:
A synopsis of the novel (up to 700 words)
Up to the first 10,000 words of the novel
The winner will receive £2,500 prize money and more. Cash prizes also for two runners-up.
Find out more
here
Deadline: 11:59pm on 2nd May 2026