The Bath Novel Award is a £2,500 international prize for emerging novelists. The 2018 judge is Felicity Blunt of Curtis Brown.

1,201 novels were submitted between 1st December 2017 and 30th April 2018. Voting proved exceptionally close, with maximum votes awarded to an unprecedented four novels and a final longlist of 24.  

Entries were received from writers in 38 countries. One in four longlisted titles are by writers from outside the UK including one with two titles on the list. 

Three writers are returning longlistees: two with revised drafts and one with a new manuscript. 

One longlistee will win a place, worth £1,800, on Cornerstones Literary Consultancy’s online course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way.

The cast of this year’s longlisted novels come from all walks of life, including: a gutsy Lagos housemaid; a disabled barman in C19th Victoria; a convict on the run in Cambridge; a young British Muslim in England’s industrial north; sinister and fantastical literary agents; an estranged family caught in Californian wildfire and a group of young London women taking back power.

The judges read “blind” so the longlisted writers’ identities are under wraps until Felicity Blunt has announced the winning novel at a ceremony on September 13th. 

In the meantime, huge congratulations to the writers of these 24 standout titles:

The Bath Novel Award 2018 Longlist:

Congratulations to all longlisted titles.

The Bath Novel Award 2018 Shortlist will be announced at noon BST on July 18th 2018.

To find out more, follow the link: https://bathnovelaward.co.uk/2018/05/24/2018-longlist/