Morris and Crewe shortlisted for £10,000 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize

Six authors including Priscilla Morris and Paddy Crewe have been shortlisted for the annual £10,000 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for Best Published Novel.

The prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English, and seeks to “support and celebrate adventure fiction in all its forms”. The shortlist is chosen by a team of librarians and library staff from across the UK. 

Morris is up for the award for her novel Black Butterflies (Duckworth), also shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023, and Crewe is shortlisted for My Name is Yip (Doubleday). 

Anthony McCarten is also in the running for Going Zero (Macmillan), Natasha Pulley for The Half Life of Valery K (Raven Books), Emma Styles for No Country for Girls (Sphere) and Jenny Tinghui Zhang for Four Treasures of the Sky (Penguin Michael Joseph).

The winner will be chosen by a judging panel comprising Felicity Aston MBE, polar explorer and expedition leader; Leon McCarron, award-winning adventurer, filmmaker, and writer; Simon Savidge, journalist, presenter, and founder of the blog and BookTube channel @SavidgeReads and Giles Kristian, author and winner of the 2022 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for Best Published Novel.

One seat on the judging panel is reserved for readers. The Reader’s Vote is open 1st June to 31st August, and gives everyone three votes to award, whether they go all to one or to three different titles. The votes will be collated and awarded the equivalent weight to one seat on the panel, giving readers a voice in determining the winner.

Niso Smith, founder of the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation, said: “Wilbur believed that adventure stories are boundless, immersing readers in daring escapades, extraordinary quests and mysterious discoveries. The genre celebrates the triumph of human strength, courage and resilience, inspiring readers to embark on their own adventures within the pages of a book. The titles on this shortlist will definitely captivate you with their vivid storytelling, compelling characters and awe-inspiring settings. My sincere congratulations go to all six authors.”

Tim Davies, lead librarian for North Lincolnshire Libraries, said: "This year was particularly enjoyable for both the diversity and high quality of the books submitted. I’ve been back in time, forward in time, to other continents on this world and to other worlds altogether – and always in the company of some strong, resourceful and engaging characters. This year’s shortlist is incredibly strong, and bears witness to the long and difficult discussions we on the reading panel had to have in whittling it down to a mere six.”

The winner for the £10,000 Best Published Novel award will be revealed on 18th October 2023 at an awards ceremony hosted at London’s Royal Geographical Society. Also being celebrated on the same night will be the New Voices award for aspiring writers and the Author of Tomorrow award for writers aged 21 years and under who have completed a short piece of adventure writing.