Betty Trask left a bequest to the Society of Authors in 1983 to fund prizes for first novels written by authors under the age of 35 in a traditional or romantic, but not experimental, style.

The 2022 award is now open for submissions!

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• Deadline for entries: 30 November 2021
• The author must be under the age of 35 on the 31 December 2021.
• The author must be resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Commonwealth for three years prior to the date of submission for the award, or a British national, and writing in English.
• The author must not have had any novel published (other than the one submitted).
• The work submitted must be in the English language and the work of one author (not a translation).
• The work submitted must be a novel of a romantic or traditional nature (i.e. not experimental).
• If published or self-published, the work must have been published between 1 January 2021 and 30 November 2021.
• If unpublished, the work must not have been previously submitted for the Betty Trask Prize and Awards.

2021 Betty Trask Prize Winner

Thomas McMullan for The Last Good Man (Bloomsbury)
 

Betty Trask Award Winners

• Maame Blue for Bad Love (Jacaranda Books)
• Eley Williams for The Liar's Dictionary (William Heinemann, Cornerstone)
• Kiran Millwood Hargrave for The Mercies (Pan Macmillan, Picador)
• Nneoma Ike-Njoku for The Water House 
• Graeme Armstrong for The Young Team (Pan Macmillan, Picador)

Charity number 289519