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We are thrilled that THE ART OF A LIE by Laura Shepherd-Robinson has been shortlisted for two Crime Writers' Association Daggers; the KAA Gold Dagger and the Historical Dagger. The KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson Associates, is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK during the judging period. The broadest definition of the crime novel applies. Eligible books include thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, psychological suspense novels and spy fiction. The Dagger was originally created in 1955, under the name of the Crossed Red Herrings Award. The first winner was Winston Graham for The Little Walls. It was renamed the Gold Dagger in 1960 and has been awarded ever since with variations in its name depending on sponsorship. The Historical Dagger is for the best historical crime novel, first published in the UK in English during the judging period, set in any period up to 50 years prior to the year in which the award will be made. For novels that involve passages set later than this time period, at least three quarters of the book should be set in an earlier period. The winner of each Dagger will be announced on Thursday 2nd July 2026.

Capital Crime has announced their shortlisting for the Fingerprint Awards 2026 and we are thrilled to have tow Greene & Heaton authors on these! Laura Shepherd-Robinson's THE ART OF A LIE has been shortlisted for the Historical Crime Book of the Year 2026 and Kelly Mullen's THIS IS NOT A GAME has been shortlisted for Debut Book of the Year 2026. This year's longlist was carefully curated by a Tastemakers Committee - a panel of 15 leading independent bloggers and reviewers - who championed their standout titles across each category. All selected books were first published in English between 1 January and 31 December 2025. Voting is now open and will be until 30th May. The winners in each category will be revealed at the Fingerprint Awards on the evening of Thursday 18 June 2026, as part of the Capital Crime festival in London. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by acclaimed radio and TV broadcaster, and host of The Bookshelf Podcast, Ryan Tubridy.

We are thrilled to announce that Andrew Taylor has been longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, with his novel A SCHOOLING IN MURDER! From household names to thrilling new voices, these awards are a cornerstone of the literary calendar, championing storytelling that chills, captivates and inspires. Each award showcases a unique strand of crime writing – with opportunities for readers to get involved, cast their votes, and discover the genre’s brightest talent. Each year, a longlist of 18 titles is carefully selected by a panel of industry experts. The public is then invited to take part in two key stages of the voting process: first, to help determine the shortlist of six novels from the longlist, and later, to help choose the overall winner from the shortlist. In both stages, the public vote is combined with the judging panel’s decision to reach the final outcome. The winner will be announced at the Opening Ceremony of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which will next take place on Thursday 23 July 2026. The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize and a hand-engraved oak beer cask, crafted by one of Britain’s last remaining coopers at Theakston’s Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire. Past winners include Mark Billingham, Denise Mina, Lee Child, Val McDermid, M.W. Craven, Jo Callaghan and 2025’s winner, Abir Mukherjee.

We are thrilled to congratulate Laura Shepherd-Robinson on her double longlisting, for her fourth novel THE ART OF A LIE, for the Crime Writers' Association Gold and Historical Dagger Awards! The KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson Associates, is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK during the judging period. The broadest definition of the crime novel applies. Eligible books include thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, psychological suspense novels and spy fiction. The Dagger was originally created in 1955, under the name of the Crossed Red Herrings Award. The first winner was Winston Graham for The Little Walls. It was renamed the Gold Dagger in 1960 and has been awarded ever since with variations in its name depending on sponsorship. The CWA Historical Dagger is awarded to the best historical crime novel set in any period up to 50 years prior to the year in which the award will be made. The Historical Dagger is sponsored by Morgan Witzel in memory of Dr. Marilyn Livingstone. THE ART OF A LIE by Laura Shepherd-Robinson has been longlisted in both award categories. The CWA awards thirteen Daggers in total. Nine of these are for books and short stories and are judged independently by industry professionals. Starting in 2024, in addition to the coveted Dagger trophy, Dagger winners will receive a one-year membership in the CWA.

We are thrilled to report that Benjamin Wood's SEASCRAPER has been shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, run by the Abbotsford Trust. Honouring the achievements of the founding father of the historical novel, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world. With a total value of over £30,000, and now in its sixteenth year, the Prize is unique for rewarding writing of exceptional quality which is set in the past. The Prize celebrates quality, innovation, durability and ambition of writing, and is open to books first published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. Reflecting the subtitle ‘Sixty Years Since’ of Scott’s most famous work Waverley, the majority of the storyline must be set at least 60 years ago. The shortlist for the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been announced from Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott and the Prize, in a video narrated by James Naughtie. For the first time in the Prize’s seventeen-year history, there are five books on the shortlist, all by British authors. The shortlisted titles are: THE PRETENDER by Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury)THE MATCHBOX GIRL by Alice Jolly (Bloomsbury)BENBECULA by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Polygon)ONCE THE DEED IS DONE by Rachel Seiffert (Virago)SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood (Viking) Spanning the centuries from the 1480s to the 1950s, the novels cover events and locations from the English Wars of the Roses to Austria and Germany during the Second World War, and a shocking true crime committed on a Hebridean island to an imagined encounter in a small community on the northwest coast. The judges said: “The five shortlisted novels for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize probe intimate lives lived in both small and big settings. Readers will hear voices usually unheard but which, once heard, won’t be forgotten. The shortlist choice is always difficult, but our authors each reveal the hidden, and in doing so offer new insights into our own times as well as the times in which their novels are set. Above all, our five authors are storytellers, so if you like a good story, the 2026 Walter Scott Prize shortlist is one you won’t want to miss.” SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood The judges said: ‘In the hands of skilled and confident novelists, small lives make big stories. Benjamin Wood is such a novelist, and in SEASCRAPER his gift to us is Thomas Flett, a shanker, scraping for shrimp in Longferry, a holiday town on England’s northwest coast. The town has a promenade but in March Longferry is ‘just another dismal place’ to pass through. Thomas dreams of music; he has traded his grandfather’s pocket-watch for a guitar. A visitor arrives. A song is written. But the marvel of the story, and the tension, lie in the measured way Wood draws us into the life of a boy thirled to a habit, and even though Thomas eschews a motor rig in favour of the old horse and cart, this is no sentimental journey. The horse is nameless; the work ‘drudging’; the sinkpits waiting to swallow you up. SEASCRAPER is a rich read, one to be savoured. When you come to the end you’ll want to start again.’ The winner of the 2026 Walter Scott Prize will be revealed on 12th June, following a live event at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose on 11th June presented by Sir Walter Scott’s great-great-great-great grandson, Matthew Maxwell Scott, alongside Prize founder and patron the Duke of Buccleuch.

We are thrilled to share that THE HOUSE OF WOLF by Sir Tony Robinson has been shortlisted for The Bookseller's British Book Awards, Book of the Year in Debut Fiction. The British Book Awards said: "Set amid the struggle for succession in Anglo-Saxon England, the debut novel from the presenter of Channel 4’s Time Team and star of Blackadder was launched with a spectacular cover reveal, viewed 67,000 times. Video content of the author recorded at Sutton Hoo and a behind-the-scenes audiobook recording was used across social channels. In person, Tony Robinson undertook a seven date FANE tour From Baldrick to Alfred the Great to reach fans and readers across the UK." The British Book Awards is a proud supporter of the National Year of Reading’s Go All In campaign and the Nibbies will celebrate the unique industry-wide collaboration and continue to champion the books readers have loved, encompassing the broadest constituency of readers across genres, passions and formats in the shortlists this year. Alice O’Keeffe, head of books for The Bookseller and overall chair of the Books of the Year, said: "From fresh new voices to big brand authors, this year’s shortlists celebrate the best books published in 2025. For the very first time, our judges are looking forward to discussing three new categories: Romantic Fiction, Graphic Novels and Science Fiction & Fantasy. "In an exceptional year for Non-Fiction Narrative submissions, half the shortlist is made up of books that broke out of the books pages to lead the news agenda, a reminder that these books really matter." The Book of the Year winners will be decided by separate panels, with judges including Oti Mabuse, Prue Leith, Dr Ranj, Yulia Navalnaya, Ardal O’Hanlon, Janet Ellis and Abir Mukherjee. This year’s winners will be unveiled at a ceremony taking place at Grosvenor House, London on Monday 11th May 2026.

We are thrilled to report that Benjamin Wood's SEASCRAPER has been longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, run by the Abbotsford Trust. Honouring the achievements of the founding father of the historical novel, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world. With a total value of over £30,000, and now in its sixteenth year, the Prize is unique for rewarding writing of exceptional quality which is set in the past. The Prize celebrates quality, innovation, durability and ambition of writing, and is open to books first published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. Reflecting the subtitle ‘Sixty Years Since’ of Scott’s most famous work Waverley, the majority of the storyline must be set at least 60 years ago. Chair of Judges, Katie Grant, said: “As always, compiling the Longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction isn’t easy, and again, as always, we’re guided by our criteria: originality, innovation, ambition, durability and quality of writing. The 2026 list spans all human experience and emotional intensity, with our authors crafting their work on both the small domestic canvas and a broader, more epic scale. And readers be warned: in amongst the clever, the funny, the poignant, the piquant, the moving, the intriguing and the surprising, in this year’s list you’ll find writing so visceral it will remain with you long after you have closed the book.” Matthew Maxwell Scott, Walter Scott’s great-great-great-great grandson and Trustee of The Abbotsford Trust, said: “This is a terrific Longlist and I am sure that debate amongst our wonderful judges about which books will make the Shortlist, and which novel will be this year’s eventual winner, will be very passionate. The list showcases everything that is great about historical fiction, a genre Walter Scott did so much to help create more than two centuries ago, and which continues to delight discerning readers today. “We look forward to welcoming some of the authors to Abbotsford in June where, in the home that Scott built and loved, the celebration of great writing continues. Authors, readers and visitors alike can feel Scott’s presiding genius, a cultural icon of his own age and of ours.” The Shortlist will be announced in April. The twelve books longlisted are: VENETIAN VESPERS John Banville (Faber & Faber) THE TWO ROBERTS Damian Barr (Canongate) EDEN’S SHORE Oisín Fagan (John Murray Press) HELM Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber) THE PRETENDER Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury) BOUNDARY WATERS Tristan Hughes (Parthian Books) THE MATCHBOX GIRL Alice Jolly (Bloomsbury) EDENGLASSIE Melissa Lucashenko (Oneworld Publications) BENBECULA Graeme Macrae Burnet (Polygon) ONCE THE DEED IS DONE Rachel Seiffert (Virago) THE ARTIST Lucy Steeds (John Murray Press) SEASCRAPER Benjamin Wood (Viking)

We are thrilled that SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood has been shortlisted for the Winston Graham Historical Prize 2026! The prize celebrates the best new historical fiction with a powerful sense of place published in the past year; to enter novels must be set at least 60 years ago in the UK and Ireland. This quest to reveal atmospheric new windows onto the past is the legacy of Winston Graham, author of the Poldark novels, which painted an unforgettable picture of 19th century Cornwall through the lives of Ross, Demelza and co. Creation of the annual shortlist is carried out by readers’ groups across Cornwall who, via their local library, are provided with entries and tasked to report back. Reader favourites are put forward to an expert judging panel led by Chair Charlotte Hobson, an award-winning writer of historical fiction herself who is based in Cornwall. Charlotte is joined on the panel this year by academic and Graham’s daughter in law, Peggotty Graham, authors Wyl Menmuir and Patrick Gale, writer and editor Sravya Raju, and book blogger Cathy Johnson. Find out more about the judges here. Charlotte said: “Historical fiction is evolving apace, with more diversity and nuance than ever before, and this year it’s really struck me how these subtle and brilliant stories set in the past shed light on the modern world. Sometimes it seems that the long view of a historical novel is the best way to make sense of the crazy times we’re living through.” This year the judges will have to choose between a fascinating array of historical fiction, with evocative settings ranging from the 15th Century Tudor court, the art world of the 1930s, and rural Ireland in the 1960s. On the shortlist are The Two Roberts by Damian Barr, Helm by Sarah Hall, The Pretender by Jo Harkin, Seascraper by Benjamin Wood and Time of the Child by Niall Williams. Jonathan Morton, Co-Director, Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery, commented: We’re proud of Winston Graham’s connection with the museum and always enjoy the prize ceremony and the anticipation it brings. We’re also now using Graham’s legacy to inspire young writers with Winston’s Wordsmiths, a creative writing prize for children aged 8-16. This year’s winners will be announced at Waterstones in Truro on the same day as the adults’ prize, so do look out for the names of emerging writers to watch! The prize ceremonies will take place on 12th March, with Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes generously sponsoring accommodation for visiting authors and judges.

We are delighted to announce that Benjamin Wood has won the 2025 Nero Prize for Fiction with his novel SEASCRAPER (Viking, 2025). SEASCRAPER tells the story of Thomas, who lives with his mother in Longferry as a shanker before a visitor turns up. The judges described the book as an "utterly immersive read, steeped in atmosphere, that explores what constitutes a well-lived life". The awards celebrate exceptional writing from authors based in the UK and Ireland. Each winner has received £5,000 and is now in the running for the Nero Gold Prize, Book of the Year 2025. The overall prize of £30,000 will be selected by a final judging panel comprising author Nick Hornby, BBC correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin. The winner will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Sarah Montague on 4th March. "The Nero Book Awards have gone from strength to strength in the past two years and our winners for 2025 are of incredible quality," said Gerry Ford, founder and group CEO of Caffè Nero. "The judges had a difficult job deciding on the best in each category, with so many fantastic books published this year. Their selection epitomises what we look for with the Nero Book Awards – outstanding writing, incredible storytelling and the books you most want to press into the hands of others." Previous winners of the Nero Gold Prize have included THE BEE STING by Paul Murray (Hamish Hamilton), which was the winner of the 2023 Fiction award, and MAURICE AND MARALYN by Sophie Elmhirst (Vintage), winner of the Non-Fiction category in 2024.

We are delighted to congratulate Olaf Falafel for winning the Best Laugh Out Loud Prize for ages six to eight at the 2025 Scholastic Lollies. The awards were given out at a ceremony held on 4th December 2025 at London’s Southbank Centre, hosted by author, actor and presenter Stephen Mangan, who was joined by guest stars from children’s books and television, including Lollies’ ambassador Michael Rosen, Thiago de Moraes, Anita Mangan, Serena Patel, Liz Pichon and Jim Smith. Over 150 children also attended. Rosen said: “Funny books bring joy. Simple as that. If you want to get children laughing and reading for pleasure – look no further than this year’s brilliant Lollies shortlist and winners.” Catherine Bell, managing director of Scholastic UK, said: “For almost 10 years, the Lollies Awards have championed the funniest children’s books of the year – chosen by children. Ahead of the National Year of Reading, we are so proud to announce our new set of fabulously funny winners that are perfect for reading for pleasure. Congratulations to all the incredibly talented authors and illustrators on the whole shortlist.”

We are thrilled that SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood has been shortlisted for the Nero Book Award for Fiction. Recognising great writers in the UK and Ireland, the Nero Book Awards ranges across fiction, debut fiction, non-fiction and children’s fiction categories. This year’s shortlists reflect the extraordinary depth and diversity of publishing throughout the industry. Alongside SEASCRAPER, the Fiction Shortlisted titles are THE TWO ROBERTS by Damian Barr, CURSED DAUGHTERS by Oyinkan Braithwaite and WHAT WE CAN KNOW by Ian McEwan. The winners will be revealed on Tuesday 13 January and the overall Golden Winner on Wednesday 4 March.

We are delighted to share that by Samantha Ellis (Chatto and Windus, 2025) has been longlisted for The Wingate Prize. The 2026 Wingate Literary Prize longlist is comprised of five novels and seven non-fiction titles. Covering a broad spectrum of opinions, style and content, these books look at what it means to be Jewish in multiple ways. Dating back to 1977, the annual prize is worth £4,000 and awarded to the best book, fiction or non-fiction, to convey the idea of Jewishness to the general reader. The longlisted books are: The Einstein of Sex by Daniel Brook (WW Norton)Chopping Onions on my Heart by Samantha Ellis (Chatto and Windus)Chutzpah! A Memoir of Faith, Sexuality and Daring to Stay by Yehudis Fletcher (Transworld)City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter (Dialogue Books)Berlin Atomized by Julia Kornberg (Astra House)Fear No Pharaoh by Richard Kreitner (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)Nothing Vast by Moshe Zvi Marvit (Acre Books)Ripeness by Sarah Moss (Picador)Letters by Oliver Sacks, edited by Kate Edgar (Picador)Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart (Atlantic)Family Romance by Jean Strouse (Farrar, Strous & Giroux)The Gates of Gaza by Amir Tibon (Little Brown) “We were delighted and surprised by this diverse and interesting list, which in both fiction and non-fiction showcases the purpose of the Wingate Prize. From politics to personal identity, from debut novelists to some of literature’s most recognised names, from the American Civil War to the beginnings of the sexual revolution, there is something for every kind of reader in this fascinating selection of books.” – Erica Wagner, Chair of the judges This year’s judging panel is comprised of the Chair, Erica Wagner, Xiaolu Guo, Kate Weinberg and Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet. The Wingate Prize and the Jewish Literary Foundation are pleased to be working in partnership again this year. The shortlist will be announced in mid December and the winner in early 2026, followed by an event at Jewish Book Week.

SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood (Viking, July 2025) has been longlisted for The Booker Prize 2025! The longlist has been selected by the 2025 judging panel, chaired by critically acclaimed writer and 1993 Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle. Doyle, who is the first Booker Prize winner to chair the panel, is joined by Booker Prize-longlisted novelist Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀; award-winning actor, producer and publisher Sarah Jessica Parker; writer, broadcaster and literary critic Chris Power; and New York Times bestselling and Booker Prize-longlisted author Kiley Reid. This year’s selection, which was chosen from 153 submissions, celebrates the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025. For the first time, the shortlist of six books will be announced at a public event, to be held at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Tuesday, 23 September 2025. The six shortlisted authors will each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book. The announcement of the winning book  will take place on Monday, 10 November 2025 at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London. The announcement will be livestreamed on the Booker Prizes’ channels. The winner receives £50,000. What the judges said: "SEASCRAPER seems, at first, to be a beautifully described account of the working day of a young man, Thomas Flett, who works as a shanker in a north of England coastal town, scraping the Irish Sea shore for scrimps. And it is that: the details of the job and the physicality of the labour are wonderfully captured by Benjamin Wood. But this novel becomes much more than that. It’s a book about dreams, an exploration of class and family, a celebration of the power and the glory of music, a challenge to the limits of literary realism, and – stunningly – a love story."

TRIXIE PICKLE ART AVENGER: TOXIC TAKEDOWN by Olaf Falafel has been shortlisted for a Scholastic Lollies Book Award, for ages 6-8. The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards (the Lollies) celebrates the best and funniest children's books in the UK and Ireland, voted for by children. The Awards have been running since 2016 and now are back for the ninth year. The judges for 2025 are Michael Rosen, Archie Maddocks, Alison Perry and Sheila Wood. Voting opens in July and will close in Autumn, with the winners announced in December 2025. The other shortlisted authors in this category are GRIMWOOD:ATTACK OF THE STINK MONSTER! by Nadia Shireen, KEISHE JONES TAKES THE WORLD by Natalia Denny and Chante Timothy and THE SHOP OF IMPOSSIBLE ICE CREAMS: BIG BERRY ROBBERY by Shane Hegarty and Jeff Crowther.