Discover the Mo Siewcharran 2024 Longlist
HODDERSCAPE ANNOUNCES LONGLIST FOR MO SIEWCHARRAN PRIZE 2024
Hodderscape is delighted to announce the longlist of twelve writers in contention for the Mo Siewcharran Prize.
Now in its fifth year, the Mo Siewcharran Prize is run as part of Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf and named in memory of Nielsen BookData’s former Director of Marketing and Communications. The prize is sponsored by John Seaton, Mo Siewcharran’s husband and co-founder of the Prize, and Nielsen BookData.
The prize aims to shine a light on unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and minority ethnic backgrounds. This year, the prize is being hosted by Hodderscape and has focused on writers in the fantasy genre.
The longlist has been chosen by members of the Hodder & Stoughton editorial team and employees of other companies within Hachette UK, as well as members of Hachette UK’s THRIVE network. THRIVE works to build cultural awareness, brings people together, and champions our Black, Asian, mixed heritage and minority ethnic colleagues, writers and illustrators.
Molly Powell, Publishing Director of Hodderscape, said: “We were blown away by the quality of entries to the Mo Siewcharran prize this year, as well as the variety of fantasy stories that have been selected for the longlist: from cozy fantasy, to the truly epic, to the gothic, and with entrants writing across young adult and adult.”
A shortlist of up to six writers will be chosen by a panel of judges, including Molly Powell, Publishing Director of Hodderscape, alongside Natasha Qureshi, Commissiong Editor at Hodderscape, Saara El-Arifi (Sunday Times bestselling author of The Final Strife), Sangu Mandanna (author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches), literary agent Edwina de Charnace of MMB Creative, founder and CEO of FairyLoot Anissa de Gomery, and the co-chair of Hachette UK’s THRIVE network Feyi Oyesanya. The winner and runners-up will be selected by the judges from the shortlisted entries.
The longlist, in full:
The One Day King by Daniel Adediran
The Devotee by H.D. Ahmed
The Five Realms by Olivia Dean
Porcelain and Power by Tasha Dhanraj
The Call of the Empyrean by Robert Gardiner
Sandstorm by Aliyah Goga
The Master of the Valley by Cassie Leung
The Treaties We Break by Tina Shah
The Necromancer by Adetola Shaw
Modern Day Dragons by Ana Sun
Deity of a Drowning Realm by K. Andrea White
All Storms A Labyrinth by Phoebe Yemi Ara
The shortlist announcement will take place on 11th September 2024, and the winner will be announced at the prize ceremony on 25th September 2024.
The winner will receive £2,500 prize money, plus a detailed letter from a Hodderscape editor giving feedback on their entry and a follow-up online mentoring session. They will also have introductory meetings with at least two different literary agents, an introductory session with the Hodder & Stoughton rights team, meetings with the Hodder & Stoughton marketing and publicity teams, and a ticket to London Book Fair 2025. The winner’s entry will also be taken forward to a Hodder & Stoughton acquisitions meeting and considered for publication with a competitive advance against royalties.
One runner up will receive £1,500 prize money, plus a detailed letter from a Hodderscape editor giving feedback on their entry, and a hamper of Hodderscape books. A second runner up will receive £750 prize money, as well as a hamper of Hodderscape books.
For more information about this year’s Mo Siewcharran Prize please visit here.
