We are pleased to announce that we will soon be welcoming submissions for the 2026 Novel Prize. New Directions will read entries from the Americas, Fitzcarraldo Editions from Africa and Europe, and Giramondo from Asia and Australasia.
Guidelines and conditions for entry are below.
The Novel Prize is a biennial award for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished writers around the world. The prize offers $10,000 to the winner and simultaneous publication in North America by New Directions, in the UK and Ireland by Fitzcarraldo Editions, and in Australia and New Zealand by Giramondo Publishing. Launched in 2020, The Novel Prize rewards novels which explore and expand the possibilities of the form and are innovative and imaginative in style.
The winning novels to date have been Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au, Tell by Jonathan Buckley, It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken and Ruins, Child by Giada Scodellaro, forthcoming on April 7, 2026.
Congratulations to Giada Scodellaro, author of the 2024 Novel Prize-winning novel, Ruins, Child.
Centered on six women sharing a space in a derelict apartment tower and set in what may be the future, Ruins, Child uses the lens of urban infrastructure, botany, folklore, choreography, and collective listening to create a new ethnography of place. Scodellaro’s heroines obscure authority, setting afoot a radical freeing-up.
“Ruins, Child is conceptually rich, prismatic, and choral, embodied, and surreal, cinematic and textual.”
—Dionne Brand
Guidelines for entry to the Novel Prize:
Please read these eligibility and entry rules carefully before submitting. Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of the entry rules. For any queries not covered below, please contact editorial@ndbooks.com.
1. The competition is open to published and unpublished writers around the world. Writers based in the Americas should submit via New Directions. Writers based in Africa and Europe should submit to Fitzcarraldo Editions; writers based in Asia and Australasia should submit to Giramondo.
2. Entrants residing in the Americas should submit a full manuscript of their novel (minimum 30,000 words) to novelprize@ndbooks.com. The manuscript should be double-spaced, 12pt.
3. Each submission should include a cover letter including a biographical note, contact details and brief outline of the novel.
4. The submission must be original.
5. Only submissions received by 8PM on 1 June 2026 (EDT) will be considered.
6. Entries that are incomplete, corrupted or submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
7. The entry must be the entrant’s own original creation and must not infringe upon the right or copyright of any person or entity.
8. Co-authored entries will not be accepted.
9. Writers who have existing contracts, or who have previously held contracts, with publishers for books of fiction or non-fiction are eligible to enter.
10. Writers who have published writing (fiction or non-fiction) in magazines and journals are eligible to enter.
11. Writers who have published books of poetry are eligible to enter.
12. Writers may submit only one manuscript per iteration of the prize.
13. The novel must be written in English (no translations).
14. Submissions may be made by the author of the novel or (if they have one) their agent.
15. There are no age restrictions, and we welcome submissions from writers of all backgrounds.
16. Submissions from writers residing outside of the Americas will not be considered or passed on to the relevant publishers.
17. All submissions should include page numbers.
18. The novel must be original and should not have been previously published anywhere in full. Published work is taken to mean published in any printed, publicly accessible form, e.g. anthology, magazine, newspaper. It is also taken to mean published online, with the exception of personal blogs and personal websites.
19. A shortlist will be announced in January 2027. The winner will be announced in February 2027, and published in early 2028.
20. New Directions, Fitzcarraldo Editions, and Giramondo reserve the right to organize a meeting or phone call with all shortlisted writers to discuss their novel before the award of the prize.
21. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
22. No editorial feedback will be provided to unsuccessful entrants.
23. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process.
24. New Directions, Fitzcarraldo Editions, and Giramondo will have the exclusive world rights to publish the winning novel.
25. New Directions, Fitzcarraldo Editions, and Giramondo reserve the right not to award the prize this year, or to make multiple offers of publication.
26. Only submissions which meet all Terms and Conditions will be considered.
27. By entering this competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
Published