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A huge congratulations to our inaugural TOP 100!
The Projectionist
Kate Baker
Jewels of a Fractured Soul
Austen Squirrel
The Five Loves of Mrs Heathcliff
Portia Holdsworth
Dynamite
James Hamilton
My Ex-Fiancé’s Wedding
Leanne Quinn
House of Mothers
Kayleigh Jones
The Argonaut's Son
Vicki Feltham
Macarons and Monsters
Elodie Turquois
The Poisoner’s Daughter
Laura Buckley
The Peace of Bread
Debby Taylor-Lane
The Education of Miss Kitty Bennet
Shaney Lloyd
Lost Souls
Rhiannon Moore
The Make-up Artist
Marcus Brewster
Dear Prudence
Julie Thomas
Always Greener in Someone Else's Land
Supravo Rahman
There's One in Every Family
Jude Gray
A Thousand Rivers of Time
Erica Li
Pretty Strangers and the Promises They Hold
Sarah Dix
What Happens Mostly Without You
Ashley Parsons
Game Set & Catch
Marcus Jones
Out of the Foxhole
Averil Meehan
Alone Together
Sarah Ivory
The Exotics
Sharon Tandy
Forever Forever
Carol Sadan
Adventurous Sylke Sisters
Patricia Holland
Pan(Dora)
Maia Malika
A Girl Called Redemption
Sophie Neville
Sunrise on an Unlikely Safari
Zoe Dunkley
The Dark Helpline
Shahnawaz Khan
One Hell of a Bind
Hannah Aston
With Every Secret Thing
Jane Keightley
At the Pine House
Emily Abdeni-Holman
The Returnees
Esme Waters
Second Wife
George Alexandru Dragoi
New Mothers
Laura Tisdall
A Free Bird Leaps
Emma Harris
The Broadcasts
Hannah Aston
An Altar to Her Name
Hannah Aston
Cerulean, Viridian
Samantha Kent
Dark Rhythms
Settit Beyene
The Art of Losing
Emily Ford
What You Don't Know
Sian Tondut
Twelve Satin Soldiers
Chelsea La Vecchia
The Light Beyond the Mountain
Alka Handa
Smokeland
Elena House-Hay
Mia Can't Think Straight
Kelly Brockington
A Good Man is Hard to Hire
Lilly Sanders
Isabelle Gomez is Innocent
Jackie Yap
The Cursed Detective
Phil Callaghan
My Callous Soul
Nikias Tomasiello
Insurrection Factions
Simon Bowler
The Red Moon Trails
Nabin Chhetri
The Runaways
Lauren Chian
The Fated Society
Denisa Vargová
Echoes of Memories
Abier Hamidi
Somebody's Darling
Harriet Keown
Chiaroscuro
Claire Chamberlain
The Forgetting Study
N. C. Kay
Mother's Beads
Susan Bweya
A Beginners Guide to the Afterlife
Marian Smith
Codename Charlotta
Katharine Trigarszky
The Proveniste
Lisa Cortez
War Chariot
Sam Imbercourt
Six Hand Circus
Kit Mazarin
The Wall of Crows
Kevin Lymer
Girl in Crossfire
Ali Nicholson
The Jackpot
Joanne McClean
In Her Veins
Juniper Harmon
The Debatable Lands
Anne Farquharson
Madeleine
Mary Annes Payne
The Devil's Uniform
Brenda Davies
The Sign of the Pelican
Pauline McAlonan
The Kingdom of Kye
Heather Stewart
Death Whistles
Heather Stewart
The Uprising
Charles Daniel Cohen-Felton
(Title to be confirmed)
Ashley Reed
Amirah
Jaslin Purification
Yesterday Tomorrow
Robin Hickson
The Night Mother
Laura Bellingham
Venatrix
Joshua Wesley
When the Cherry Blossom Falls
Susannah Jong-Sook Bond
The House of Lost Threads
Terri Mullholland
Shadows in Oberon
Molly Treves
India Lane
Sophia Claire Thompson
JAGO
Keith Austin
Hospitals in Winter
Sharon Penna
Becoming Leonardo
Julie O'Sullivan
The Ascent of Silence
Khudeeja Begum
Yoga Homicide
Emma Conally-Barklem
Salted Earth
Briana Wilvert
Roving Hearts
Kerry Plume
The Island of Unremembering
Sunita Thind
Chickie
Frankie Regalia
Tell Me You're Real
Lizzie Dinawi
Atropos
Ashleigh Morgan
Truthspindle
Christina Loi
The Ascent
Morag Thorpe
Garden of Aden
Katherine Cudmore
The Breath of Silence
Melanie Reynard
Little Love Lost
Judith Pasztor Duffy
Ascent Novel Prize Readers
Stacey Thomas
Author of the spell-binding novel, THE REVELS, Stacey Thomas is excited to be part of Ascent Novel Prize in its inaugural year. She is looking forward to reading all the amazing submissions that will come through. As a reader, she has a weakness for a killer first line, fresh approaches and strong writing across all genres. As a writer, she encourages you to be brave! Before being published she entered numerous competitions and ended up winning the ones she never thought she'd have a chance at. She looks forward to reading your entry.
Pete
Frost
Independent Bookshop owner and voracious reader, Pete Frost cannot wait to discover the next best-selling author. Enjoying a wide variety of genres, Pete is excited to read work with killer hooks or emotional depth. Entering writing competitions can be like taking a leap of faith, but with sensitive and astute readers, your work is in good hands. Pete encourages all writers to enjoy the process and share their hard won words with the world.
Venetia
Constantine
Venetia Constantine is the author of THE LAST STARBORN SEER, the first instalment in a mesmerising fantasy series publishing with Head of Zeus in March 2026. With a PhD in Art History, Venetia is looking forward to reading intricately drawn worlds and layered characters she can root for. Prior to finding her agent, Venetia entered many literary competitions and would encourage writers to use them as a chance to grow in confidence and nurture their talent.
Pim Wangtechawat
An author from Bangkok, Pim's debut novel THE MOON REPRESENTS MY HEART was published by Oneworld Publications in 2023 and has since been translated into multiple languages. She is thrilled to join Ascent Novel Prize in the search for heartfelt and innovative stories from writers around the world. As a reader, she gravitates toward layered characters and narratives that either ask though-provoking questions or sweep her into entirely new worlds. She encourages all writers to enjoy the process, trust their voices, and tell stories that feel honest and true to them.
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Laure Van Rensburgh
Laure Van Rensburg is the author of NOBODY BUT US and THE GOOD DAUGHTER and has had several short stories placed in competition. As a reader she is looking forward to reading stories that draws her in through immersive writing and subtly weaved tension. She has a weakness for flawed characters and evocative prose. Back when she was an unpublished writer, she entered and placed in a few novel competitions, and one advice she would like to share is to make sure to polish your entry as much as possible before submitting…and remember that placing in a competition is a great boost, but if you don’t make it, it isn’t a reflection on your writing.
A.Y. Chao
Alice is thrilled to join the Ascent Novel Prize Award team and can’t wait to read your entries! She's the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Shanghai Immortal. The follow up Paris Celestial publishes March 2026. She adores immersive heartfelt stories and memorable voices, especially ones that make her laugh. Her advice to writers: There is no single “right way” to write. Plotter or panster, handwritten or typed, sequential or non-chronological, strict or irregular writing sessions, anything in between: it’s all good. The important thing is getting your story down in a way that works for you.