Imogen Robertson

Read about our judges here

The Competition is NOW OPEN.

All writers, published and unpublished are invited to submit an unpublished short story of up to 3500 words set at least 35 years in the past. All genres welcome. Entry £5 (via PayPal).

Read more and enter here

We’re delighted to announce the winner of the first HWA/Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel Award. She’s Maggie Richell Davies, whose gripping story, The Servant, came first in a very strong field.

Once again the judges wish to stress how impressive the submissions were and how hard it was to come to a final decision. Many congratulations to all the entrants.

The winner

Maggie Richell Davies for The Servant

1765: Fourteen-year-old Hannah must go where she’s sent, despite her instincts screaming danger. Why does disgraced aristocrat William Chalke have a locked room in his house? What’s sold at the auctions taking place behind closed doors?

‘I was gripped from the very first line.’

Maggie receives the £500 prize, and the offer of publication from Sharpe Books

Highly commended

Peter Sandham for Porphyry and Ash

1452: John Grant is a Scottish mercenary, newly arrived in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine empire, which is under threat from the Ottoman Turks. Anna Notaras is the teenage daughter of Constantinople’s richest man. Previously betrothed to Emperor Constantine, she nurses a grudge against him for breaking the engagement off and an ambition to still be empress one day.

‘Full of action, colour and pathos. A cracking read.’

Susan Stokes-Chapman for Infelice

August 1820: Sarah Walker returns to the family home and finds that in her absence a new lodger has moved in. William Hazlitt shows a marked interest in her and Sarah, having been starved of affection for so long unwittingly encourages his attentions, for he is like no man she has ever met: sharply intelligent, passionate in his beliefs and, above all, a writer who might teach her something of the world.

‘A haunting story beautifully reconstructed from the evidence.’

Peter and Susan both receive a cash award of £100

Also shortlisted:

Many congratulations to the further three writers who made it to the shortlist.

Anna Pietrzkiewicz-Reid for Behold the Man

1899: Sent away from Krakow after a scandal, Lidka Feldmann, a half-Polish, half-Jewish student, arrives in a remote village. Instead of finding a rural idyll, she gets drawn into mysterious and dangerous events joining forces with a priest to solve a murder.

‘A colourful, convincing story told with polish and panache.’

Baptiste Pinson for Sword Maidens

7th century Scandinavia: Mist, the shy thrall of a Dane jarl must prove she is worth more alive than dead to the Sword-Maidens, a crew of women and men led by the charismatic Kara Halfdansdottir.

‘Excellent, lively writing, full of energy and texture.’

Felicity J Reid for Guinevere

5th century: In the modern day Gwen returns to scatter her father’s ashes on Glastonbury Tor, and finds a gold ring lying in the church tower on its summit. Picking up the ring, she’s transported back to the fifth century and finds Merlin who is convinced it is her destiny to become the Queen Guinevere of legend.

‘Convincing and atmospheric writing. A passionate cliffhanger finale which had me eager for Volume II.’

Richard Foreman, founder of Sharpe Books, says:
“The standard of submissions was a welcome pleasure. Many of the authors had a great feel for their genres – and were grateful for feedback and advice to improve their manuscripts. I wish to particularly congratulate the winner – and all those on the shortlist. Such has been the success of the prize that plans are already under way to run a similar competition next year.”

Imogen Robertson, chair of the Historical Writers’ Association, says:
“It was humbling and exciting to have such a brilliant range of manuscripts to read and we were all very impressed by the quality of the submissions. The Servant is a brilliant book of real power and impact and I’m delighted more people will get a chance to read it.”

HWA / Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel Award

LONGLIST

We were delighted at the number of excellent manuscripts we received, though the high quality of the entries made the selection of a longlist extremely challenging!

If the longlist were to include every manuscript we read which is both publishable and deserving of a wide readership, it would be twice as long.

The manuscripts which reached the longlist were the ones which are not just brilliantly written, but are brilliantly structured too. They also have in their subject matter, style or setting something fresh and vital about them.

So, without further ado, the longlisted books are:

Richard Bryson – Five Dark Moons

November 1943, the eve of the ill-fated Battle of Berlin. To escape Hell, reluctant Lancaster pilot Bob Smith must stand centre-stage amid the clash of duty and disillusion, sacrifice and survival.

Maggie Humm – Talland House

Talland House follows the artist character Lily Briscoe from Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse between 1900 and 1919. It is set at a dramatic moment in British history but is also one woman’s intense emotional journey.

Paula Lennon – The Adventures of Isaiah Ollenu Esquire

1772: ISAIAH OLLENU is an Englishman of African ancestry and a forthright law clerk. His career takes an unwelcome diversion when he is sent to Jamaica accompanied by RUBEN ASHBY, a pious insurance agent to find missing, possibly murdered, clients and their jewels.

Tim Oliver – Across The Line

May 1940: Following a baptism of fire on the frontline, Lieutenant Arthur Scottsdale is summoned to Section D, part of the Secret Intelligence Service and agrees to the task of rescuing two French scientists trapped behind enemy lines with details of top-secret radar technology.

Anna Pietrzkiewicz – Behold the Man

1899: Sent away from Krakow after a scandal, LIDKA FELDMANN, a half-Polish, half-Jewish student, arrives in a remote village. Instead of finding a rural idyll, she gets drawn into mysterious and dangerous events joining forces with a priest to solve a murder.

Baptiste Pinson – Sword Maidens

7^th century Scandinavia: Mist, the shy thrall of a Dane jarl must prove she is worth more alive than dead to the Sword-Maidens, a crew of women and men led by the charismatic Kara Halfdansdottir.

Felicity J Reid – Guinevere

5th century: In the modern day Gwen returns to scatter her father’s ashes on Glastonbury Tor, and finds a gold ring lying in the church tower on its summit. Picking up the ring, she’s transported back to the fifth century and finds Merlin who is convinced it is her destiny to become the Queen Guinevere of legend.

HJ Reynolds – Hushed Peacocks

1653: The exiled, orphaned and destitute LADY LAURETTE MILES is recruited by Royalist spymaster and plunged into a life of fear and intrigue as an undercover operative.

Maggie Richell Davies – The Servant

1765: Fourteen-year-old HANNAH must go where she’s sent, despite her instincts screaming danger. Why does disgraced aristocrat, WILLIAM CHALKE, have a locked room in his house? What’s sold at the auctions taking place behind closed doors?

Mandy Rymill – Uxorious

1874: When vicar EDMUND WILBRAHAM is found dead, AGNES, his sister, accuses his new wife CAROLINE of murdering him.  Is Agnes telling the truth? UXORIOUS moves between Caroline’s trial for her husband’s murder and the events leading up to his death.

Peter Sandham – Porphyry and Ash

1452: JOHN GRANT is a Scottish mercenary, newly arrived in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine empire, which is under threat from the Ottoman Turks. ANNA NOTARAS is the teenage daughter of Constantinople’s richest man. Previously betrothed to EMPEROR CONSTANTINE, she nurses a grudge against him for breaking the engagement off and an ambition to still be empress one day.

Susan Stokes-Chapman – Infelice

August 1820: SARAH WALKER returns to the family home and  finds that in her absence a new lodger has moved in. WILLIAM HAZLITT shows a marked interest in her and Sarah, having been starved of affection for so long unwittingly encourages his attentions, for he is like no man she has ever met: sharply intelligent, passionate in his beliefs and, above all, a writer who might teach her something of the world.

The final results will be announced in the second week of March.

Huge congratulations to all the longlisted writers.

The judging for the award is in its final stages, and the longlist and shortlists will be announced before the end of February 2020. We have been delighted and impressed by the quality of work submitted and the judges have some tough decisions to make. All entrants will be contacted by email with details of the longlist just before the official announcement, and consultations will begin as soon as the final result is in.