Mo Siewcharran 2024 Prize winner announced

The winner of the Mo Siewcharran Prize 2024 has been named as The Treaties We Break by Tina Shah. Hodderscape, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, announced the winner at the prize ceremony hosted at Hachette’s London office today (Wednesday 25th September). 

The first and second runners-up were named as Deity of a Drowning Realm by K Andrea White and Modern Day Dragons by Ana Sun. The Mo Siewcharran Prize is now in its fifth year and is run as part of Hachette UK’s “The Future Bookshelf” and is 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. 

This year, the prize was hosted by Hodderscape and has focused on under-represented writers in the fantasy genre. A shortlist was chosen by Molly Powell, publishing director of Hodderscape, alongside Natasha Qureshi, editor at the Novelry, Saara El-Arifi (bestselling author of The Final Strife), Sangu Mandanna (author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches), literary agent Edwina de Charnacé of MMB Creative, founder and c.e.o. of FairyLoot Anissa de Gomery, and the co-chair of Hachette UK’s THRIVE network Feyi Oyesanya.

Seaton, prize sponsor and Mo’s husband, said: “Last year it was illustrated children’s books; this year it is fantasy. Nothing could better illustrate the eclectic range of the Mo Siewcharran Prize. The submissions this year were unusually strong. The six who made it to the shortlist are to be congratulated, and the winner, Tina Shah with her wonderful The Treaties We Break, is deserving of the highest praise. Fantasy flourishes, and I am delighted this prize, thanks to Molly Powell and the Hodderscape team, has played its part in the success of the genre.”

Edwina de Charnacé, one of the judges, said: “From a heart-fluttering enemies to lovers arc, to strong female leads and a diverse cast of fleshed-out characters, without forgetting its reimaginings of classic themes that will recall Romeo and Juliet and the Trojan War, The Treaties We Break is a fine example of how fantasy, injected with humour and pathos, can ambitiously tackle the question of who and what we fight for, and why.”

The winner will receive £2,500 prize money, plus a 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.
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. The second runner-up will receive £750 prize money, as well as a hamper of Hodderscape books.