The Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize opened on 13 October for entries, welcoming unpublished women and non-binary writers to submit their work. Generously sponsored by WME, the Prize continues its mission to amplify new voices in fiction.
WME took on six authors from 2025’s shortlist and longlist, including Ciara Borderick, whose debut Catfish has just sold for six-figures to 4th Estate in a highly competitive auction.
2026
This year’s Prize features a stellar judging panel, including Vogue Williams (podcaster, presenter, and businesswoman), Ela Lee (author of Jaded and Minbak), Harriet Bourton (Publishing Director at Viking), Dr Clare Walker Gore (Assistant Professor, Lucy Cavendish), and Dr Isobel Maddison (Emeritus Fellow, Lucy Cavendish), bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and academic expertise.
The winner will receive £1,500 in cash, alongside industry exposure, and all shortlisted entrants will receive a one-on-one consultation with a literary agent at WME, offering a unique springboard into the world of publishing.
Hellie Ogden and Matilda Forbes Watson, Co-heads of WME Books London, say:
We were blown away by the success of the prize in 2025, so many great books across all genres, and global publishing and TV auctions for books we took on off the back of the prize. We can’t wait to do it all again. This year we have bestselling authors, an exceptional editor and a hugely successful presenter and businesswoman, as well as two prestigious judges from Lucy Cavendish College joining our esteemed panel to find female and non-binary literary excellence. We can’t wait.
About the Prize
Founded in 2010, by Professor Janet Todd OBE and now going into its 16th year, DBE, the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize is renowned and highly regarded for championing and launching the careers of exceptional female writers. Many of the prize’s winners and shortlistees have gone on to become bestselling and award-winning authors including Gail Honeyman ( Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine ), Sarah Harman ( All The Other Mothers Hate Me ), Sara Collins ( The Confessions of Frannie Langton ), Laura Marshall ( Friend Request ), Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott (Swan Song ), Susan Stokes Chapman ( Pandora ).
The Prize is rooted in the Cambridge college of the same name which honours Lucy Cavendish, a reformer and pioneer of women’s education and empowerment. The college is dedicated to diversity and sustainability and Lucy’s life’s work of bridging socioeconomic divides.
How to enter
Entrants should submit the opening 10 pages of their manuscript, a one-paragraph pitch, and a one-page synopsis. Both literary and genre fiction are welcomed. Submissions close at noon (12 p.m.) on 7 January 2026.
Enter now, read success stories from past entrants, visit the Lucy Cavendish website and keep up-to-date on their X and Instagram accounts.
