Watson, Little Prize 2021 Winner Announced!

The Watson, Little Prize is delighted to announce its inaugural winner, Diana McCaulay, for an extract from her novel Roots of Stone, as well as two ‘highly commended’ awards, for Martine van Bijlert and Joanna Miller.

A celebration of the agency’s 50^th anniversary, the Watson, Little Prize is international, genre-specific, and in this inaugural edition of the prize – in celebration of the agency’s 50^th year – it is dedicated to writers over 50 years of age. It aimed to encourage those from older generations, from all backgrounds and from all nations and cultures, to apply. It is also genre-specific, this year focussing on upmarket fiction.

We received 430 entries from over twenty countries, from every continent in the world excepting Antarctica. The prizes for winner and highly commended went to writers based in Jamaica, the Netherlands and the UK. A longlist of thirteen was initially selected, and the full list of longlistees (in alphabetical order) is here:

Martine van Bijlert

Ellen Carnegie

Franci Cantatore

Melanie Garrett

Moyette Gibbons

David Gill

Kathryn Lacey

Michele Allegra Laird

Seth Lynch

Diana McCaulay

Joanna Miller

Caroline Swinburne

Jane Walker

Congratulations to the winner and all the longlistees!

Further information about the prize, including terms and conditions, can be found here:

www.watsonlittle.com/about/the-watson-little-prize/