Women's Prize announces Discoveries shortlist

Women’s Prize Trust announced the 2026 Discoveries shortlist on May 15, naming six unpublished and unagented women writers in the latest round of its writing development program. The scheme is run with Audible, Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency, and Curtis Brown Creative, and is open to women in the UK and Ireland writing their first novels. This year’s shortlist follows a longlist announced earlier in May and comes from a field of more than 3,200 submissions received between September 2025 and January 2026. The winner and the Discoveries Scholar are scheduled to be announced on May 28. ### Who made this year’s shortlist? The six shortlisted writers are Mirha Butt for *Notes From The Valley of Unclaimed Daughters*, Uduak-Abasi Ekong for *Welcome Back, Darling*, Melissa Oliver-Powell for *Sea-Mouth*, Jo O’Neill for *The Peat Cutter’s Wife*, Sithara Ranasinghe for *The Spare* and Ruixi Zhang for *Confessions of an Alien*. Women’s Prize said the shortlist was presented in alphabetical order by surname. A companion feature published alongside the announcement profiles the shortlisted writers and includes their reactions to making the list. ### How does Discoveries work? Discoveries was set up in 2020 and is designed to support unagented and unpublished women in the UK and Ireland as they work on first novels. The program is free to enter and asks writers to submit the opening of a novel in English, of up to 10,000 words, rather than a completed manuscript. The Women’s Prize website describes Discoveries as a writer development program aimed at helping writers move from early pages to longer-term careers. In 2026, the initiative is supported by The Marks Family Charitable Trust in addition to its core partners. ### What do shortlisted writers receive? All six shortlisted writers will receive a one-to-one mentoring session with a Curtis Brown Group agent, according to the shortlist announcement. They will also get a free place on a six-week Curtis Brown Creative course of their choice and an invitation to an Audible studio day focused on audiobook writing and production. One writer will also be named the 2026 Discoveries Scholar and receive a scholarship for a three-month “Writing Your Novel” course with Curtis Brown Creative. The overall winner will receive £5,000 and an offer of representation from Curtis Brown. ### Who is judging the 2026 prize? Novelist and 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction winner Yael van der Wouden is chairing the 2026 Discoveries judging panel. The panel also includes author Dorothy Koomson, writer and peacebuilding practitioner Dr Nussaibah Younis, Curtis Brown literary agent Ciara Finan and Curtis Brown Creative founder and managing director Anna Davis. The Women’s Prize said the judges selected the shortlist from the wider submission pool after the longlist stage. The organization has described Discoveries as part of a broader effort to support writers from backgrounds underrepresented in the UK publishing industry. ### Why is this shortlist part of a bigger pipeline? Sixteen writers were named to the 2026 longlist, according to the program materials published by Women’s Prize. Those longlisted writers receive a two-week online Discoveries Writing Development Course designed by Curtis Brown Creative, along with an annual Audible subscription. The 2026 shortlist is the sixth for the Discoveries program since its launch. Women’s Prize said this year’s shortlisted and longlisted writers join an alumni network that includes previous participants who have gone on to publication. ### When is the next announcement? May 28 is the next key date in the 2026 Discoveries timetable, when Women’s Prize plans to announce both the overall winner and the Discoveries Scholar. Profiles of the six shortlisted writers are already available on the Women’s Prize website, alongside the shortlist announcement and earlier longlist materials.