17 August 2020
The 2021 Society of Authors' Awards are now open for entries – with 7 awards spanning fiction, poetry, non-fiction and illustrated children's books.
Each year the SoA Awards recognise the best and most promising voices of the year. This year’s ceremony was hosted online in the midst of lockdown measures with a series of short, powerful videos celebrating 32 authors across nine awards sharing a £100,000 prize fund. Emerging and established talent were recognised across novels, short stories, poetry, non-fiction and a new accolade for illustrated children’s books, The Queen’s Knickers Award.
Now, we’re open for submissions for next year’s Society of Authors Awards. Our awards for fiction are open to work from writers at all stages of their careers, from short stories to novels to poetry, and we accept submissions from both self-published and traditionally published authors.
Next year’s ceremony is generously supported by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
The awards now open for entries include:
The ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award
An annual award of £1,000 for a short story, financed by a bequest made by Miss Nellie Tom-Gallon in memory of her brother and generously supported by ALCS. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 31 October 2020, 5pm (GMT)
The Betty Trask Prize and Awards
Betty Trask left a bequest to the Society of Authors in 1983 to fund prizes for first novels written by authors under the age of 35 in a traditional or romantic, but not experimental, style. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 30 November 2020, 5pm (GMT)
The Eric Gregory Awards
The Eric Gregory Awards, for a collection by poets under the age of 30, were founded in 1960 by the late Dr Eric Gregory for the encouragement of young poets. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 31 October 2020, 5pm (GMT)
The McKitterick Prize
The McKitterick Prize is given annually to an author over the age of 40 for a first novel, published or unpublished, and endowed by Tom McKitterick – the former editor of Political Quarterly and author of an unpublished novel. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 31 October 2020, 5pm (GMT)
The Paul Torday Memorial Prize
The Paul Torday Memorial Prize celebrates a debut novel by authors aged 60 or over, set up in honour of Paul Torday by his family. Submissions must be made by the print publisher. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 30 November 2020, 5pm (GMT)
The Somerset Maugham Awards
W. Somerset Maugham set up a fund in 1947 to enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience of foreign countries. The awards are given for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 30 November 2020, 5pm (GMT)
The Queen’s Knickers Award
The Queen's Knickers Award celebrates the writers and illustrators of ‘quirky’ illustrated books for children ages 0-7, generously funded by Nicholas Allan, author of The Queen’s Knickers. Submissions must be made by the print publisher. Find out more here
Deadline for entries: 30 November 2020, 5pm (GMT)
Find out more:
With thanks to the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) for support.
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers’ work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity, ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 100,000 members, and since 1977 has paid around £500 million to writers (alcs.co.uk).