Women’s Prize Trust names ‘bold and ambitious’ Discoveries shortlist

The Women’s Prize Trust has announced its Discoveries programme 2022 shortlist, featuring six “ambitious and imaginative” authors at the start of their writing journeys.

Run by the trust, a charity which champions women writers on a global stage, in partnership with Curtis Brown literary agency, the Curtis Brown writing school and Audible, the programme aims to find aspiring female writing talent from across the UK and Ireland. 

Discoveries was launched in 2020 in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and in recognition of untapped diverse and exceptional writing talent across the country. 

Drawn from across the UK and Ireland, the six “distinctive” voices include an Irish PhD student researching Gaelic mythology, a former film art director of Sri Lankan heritage and a copywriter from Suffolk inspired by stories of her British West Indian grandfather. Also on the list is an artist and art historian, an Irish journalist and a communications director from London who started writing while expecting a baby. 

The shortlist and their novels-in-progress are: Sui Annukka for Thursday, Sadbh Kellett for Hunt the Hare, Nikki Logan for The Last Card in the Suit, Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin for The Next Life, Katy Oglethorpe for Stitches and Ruth Rosengarten for Over.  

The six were shortlisted from more than 2,500 entries by a judging panel chaired by Kate Mosse, novelist, playwright and founder-director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction; Lucy Morris, Curtis Brown literary agent; Anna Davis, founder and m.d. of Curtis Brown Creative writing school; and writers Ayisha Malik and Irenosen Okojie. 

Mosse, chair of the Discoveries judging panel, said: “We were blown away by the breadth and range of new writing submitted this year – confident and ambitious storytelling, imaginative and challenging, from diverse voices and written in many different genres. Submissions have arrived from all over the country and beyond, from women of all ages, showing us that Discoveries is creating a platform for emerging authors of all backgrounds, enabling them to discover their potential with the support that they need. We can’t wait to see how each of these novels develops in the months, and years, to come.” 

Davis and Morris added: “We are thrilled to unveil our shortlist – six unique voices that drew us in and captured our imaginations within a few short pages. We can’t wait to read the chapters that will follow – and indeed to discover what will happen next for these six talented writers, as well as for our longlistees and the many other amazing stories that thousands of writers shared with us this year.” 

All six writers will be offered a mentoring session with a Curtis Brown agent plus free enrolment on a Curtis Brown Creative six-week online course. The shortlisted writers will also take part in a studio session on writing and recording for audio with Audible. Discoveries 2023 will call for entries in September 2022.