The Authors' Awards

The Authors' Awards honour new and established writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

The Awards

• The Cholmondeley Awards totalling £8,000 are awarded annually to honour distinguished poets. Submissions are not accepted.
  Find out more | past winners
• The Tom-Gallon Trust Award: A biennial prize of £1,000 for a short story. Published and unpublished stories may be entered.
  Find out more | past winners
• The Eric Gregory Awards totalling £24,000 each year are awarded to British poets under the age of 30 on the basis of a submitted collection. Published and unpublished collections may be entered.
  Find out more | past winners
• The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography is a prize of £5,000 for the best published historical biography of the year. No unsolicited submissions are accepted.
  Find out more | past winners
• The Somerset Maugham Awards totalling £12,000 are awarded to British authors under the age of 35 for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Entry is by the publisher.
  Find out more | past winners
• The McKitterick Prize of £4,000 is awarded for a first novel by an author over the age of 40. The prize is open to published and unpublished novels.
  Find out more  | past winners
• The Betty Trask Prize and Awards totalling £20,000 are awarded to authors under the age of 35 for a first novel, published or unpublished.
  Find out more | past winners
• The Travelling Scholarships are honorary awards made annually to British writers. Submissions are not accepted. Find out more
• The ELT Writing Award: This prize for ELT writing is sponsored by the British Council. Find out more

The 2012 Awards

£65,000 of prize money for twenty-three writers

Biographer Claire Tomalin (pictured) presented our awards at a reception at the Army and Navy Club on Thursday 14 June. The event, celebrating seven literary awards, and twenty-three winning writers, was introduced by the Chair of the Society, novelist Lindsey Davis. Find out more…

Claire Tomalin on the Authors' Awards:

'as a writing community we are all so grateful to the people who have funded prizes... it is a true and lasting generosity and has an effect that goes on and builds.'

Click here to view a gallery of images on Flickr.

Click here to view our Pinterest board of Authors' Awards images.

Paul Bailey on judging the Betty Trask and McKitterick prizes:

'Sod Big Books and little books alike, it's the individual voice that finally matters. It might just be a still, small voice, but if it has the power to enchant it gets my vote.'

(Read the full article - Paul Bailey: I prefer humble prizes - in The Guardian, Friday 13 July 2012)

Until 2011 the Society of Authors administered the Encore Award for the best second novel. For further information about the 2012 Encore Award, see www.encoreaward.com