‘Twist’ to Hachette’s Mo Siewcharran Prize as focus shifts to crime

Hachette UK’s Mo Siewcharran Prize to help discover unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds will this year focus on crime and thrillers and be hosted by Quercus, marking a change from previous years. 

Launched in 2019, the initiative, named in memory of Nielsen Book’s former director of marketing and communications and running as part of Hachette UK’s Future Bookshelf, was previously open to all adult literary fiction genres.

The prize was not held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but in 2021 Santanu Bhattacharya was awarded the prize for his submission He Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which Fig Tree will publish as his debut novel One Small Voice in 2023. 

He joins the judging panel this year, stating: “As a struggling writer from an underrepresented background, it was a huge privilege to win the Mo Siewcharran Prize 2021, and to know that my novel resonated with so many people. I’m thrilled to be judging this year’s prize, and looking forward to reading new work, and especially enjoying what is being written in the crime genre.”

John Seaton, Siewcharran’s husband and co-founder of the prize, said:  "This year, the fifth anniversary of Mo’s death, the focus of the prize could hardly be more fitting. Mo read widely, but crime fiction was, perhaps, the genre she most relished. Many were the animated conversations we had over one of her favourites, or, even more exciting, a new discovery.

“I am delighted that the Mo Siewcharran Prize has been given this twist. I am very grateful to Hachette, especially Nick Davies, for their continued championing of the prize, and to Cassie Browne and the energetic team at Quercus for taking it in this new direction.”

The winner of the prize will receive £2,500 plus editorial feedback in the form of a two-to-three page editorial letter from a Quercus editor, as well as a follow up one-hour editorial session with a Quercus editor, either online or in person. 

They will also have introductory meetings with at least two different literary agents, an introductory session with the Quercus rights team and meetings with the publisher’s marketing and publicity teams. The winner’s novel will also be taken forward to the next Quercus acquisitions meeting and be considered for full publication with an advance against royalties.

Cassie Browne, fiction publisher, and Stef Bierwerth, publisher at Quercus, said: “We are thrilled and honoured that Quercus is hosting the important and brilliant Mo Siewcharran Prize this year, which was founded by Sharmaine Lovegrove and launched with Dialogue Books. With Quercus’ history of publishing crime and thriller across all its fiction imprints, the genre focus this year feels hugely exciting and we can’t wait to discover some new writers and get reading.”

The first round will be judged by members of Quercus and Hachette UK’s THRIVE employee network alongside employees from the different divisions of Hachette UK to produce a longlist. 

The shortlist, winner and runners-up will be judged by Browne and Bierwerth, alongside Bhattacharya, literary agent Camilla Bolton, crime fiction critic Ayo Onatade and Ella Patel, co-chair of THRIVE. The judging panel will also include Quercus authors Elly Griffiths and Amen Alonge.