W. Somerset Maugham set up a fund in 1947 to enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience of foreign countries. The awards are given for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry.

The 2022 Awards are now open for submissions!

Enter Now

• Deadline for entries: 30 November 2021
• The author must be a British national, or resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for three years prior to the date of submission for the award, and writing in English.
• The author must be under the age of 30 on 30 November 2021.
• The work submitted must be a full-length book and have been first published in Britain in 2021.
• The work submitted may be poetry, fiction, criticism, biography, history, philosophy, belles-lettres or a travel book. Dramatic works are not eligible.

2021 Winners

• Akeem Balogun for The Storm (Okapi Books)
• Graeme Armstrong for The Young Team (Pan Macmillan, Picador)
• Isabelle Baafi for Ripe (Ignition Press)
• Lamorna Ash for Dark, Salt, Clear (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Charity number 212402