Discoveries Prize Class of 2022
BY Discoveries
22nd Sep 2022
We can’t wait to launch the third year of Discoveries – the annual outreach writing programme and prize run by the Women’s Prize Trust, Curtis Brown, Curtis Brown Creative and Audible. Entries for the 2023 prize open 26 Sept – watch this space!
To help inspire potential Discoveries 2023 entrants, , we’re delighted to share extracts from the openings of the 16 novels-in-progress longlisted for Discoveries 2022 and a few words of wisdom from their authors.
The winner, shortlist and longlist were selected by the 2022 judging panel, which included chair of judges Kate Mosse, international bestselling novelist and Founder Director of the Women’s Prize, and her judging panel: esteemed writers Ayisha Malik and Irenosen Okojie, Curtis Brown literary agent Lucy Morris, and Anna Davis, Founder and MD of Curtis Brown Creative.
Discoveries is more than a traditional writing prize, it is a pioneering development initiative which offers practical support and encouragement to aspiring female novelists of all ages and backgrounds, from across the UK and Ireland. The programme culminates with awarding the Discoveries Prize for an unpublished novel-in-progress.
As part of the Discoveries 2022 programme, all longlisted and shortlisted authors took part in a two-week online Discoveries Writing Development programme in the summer, designed and hosted by Curtis Brown Creative with tuition from acclaimed novelist Charlotte Mendelson – plus free or discounted places on CBC’s online writing courses. The shortlisted authors also received personalised packages of mentorship from a Curtis Brown agent. Nikki Logan was named the Discoveries Scholar, and won a free scholarship place to attend a three-month Writing Your Novel course with Curtis Brown Creative (worth £1,800). Winner of Discoveries, Sui Annukka, was awarded on offer of representation from Curtis Brown Literary Agency and a cash prize of £5,000 – Sui is now represented by Jess Molloy at Curtis Brown.
We’re delighted to continue supporting and celebrating the women writers nominated for Discoveries 2022. We hope you’ll enjoy reading these short extracts from the openings of the brilliant winning, shortlisted and longlisted novels-in-progress…
WINNER
Sui Annukka, Thursday
Sui Annukka grew up in London and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sui read Drama at the University of Bristol, and later studied Production Design at the National Film and Television School. She currently works as a Teaching Assistant in London.
Sui has had poetry and short fiction published in the following anthologies: Filigree: Contemporary Black British Poetry (Peepal Tree, 2018), Shots in the Dark (Crocus Books, 2018), Sounds Exceeding 80 Decibels (Crocus Books, 2017) and Elevator Fiction (Crocus Books, 2016). She was a participant of Manchester Commonword’s Women in the Spotlight Programme, and an Eclipse Theatre SLATE supported artist.
‘Winning the Discoveries Prize has been extraordinary. It was hugely encouraging to know that the judges enjoyed reading my work. There is no greater motivator than an appreciative reader! Being signed by an agent, I am now learning more about how the publishing industry works and starting to seriously consider what I can bring to it. And, the prize money has been much appreciated. It has enabled me to take some time-out this year, to write.
The best parts of this process though is the relationships I am building with the other long listees. They are a fabulous bunch of super-talented women. We all met during our Curtis Brown Course with the great Charlotte Mendelson. Since then, we have established a monthly Zoom call to connect and, and to learn from each other. Some in-person meetings are also in the works.
For me the prize has been life-changing: a bit scary. Also, a lot of fun.’
DISCOVERIES SCHOLAR
Nikki Logan, The Last Card in the Suit
Nikki Logan is currently writing her first novel having taken part in several online creative writing workshops during and since lockdown. She has a degree in photography and has been a copywriter for 13 years.
The idea for her novel was inspired by her grandfather’s experience of life as a British West Indian in 1940s Jamaica and Deep South USA before moving to England in 1950. She began recording his life story ten years ago and has immersed herself in research ever since.
Nikki enjoys reading character-driven novels. She believes fiction is a powerful tool to entertain as well as inform and influence social empathy, changing the way people see the world.
She lives in Suffolk with her husband, two sons and labradoodle.
‘Being part of Discoveries 2022 has been an incredible experience. I feel so lucky and grateful to have been shortlisted and then chosen as the first Discoveries Scholar.
I’m new to writing fiction, so to have support whilst my novel is still in progress has been invaluable. I’ve already taken part in a brilliant two-week online course through Curtis Brown with Charlotte Mendelson. And, as the Discoveries Scholar, I have been awarded a place on one of their three-month Writing Your Novel courses.
I initially entered the competition to give myself a deadline to work towards, but I’ve got so much more out of it than I could’ve ever imagined! The recognition has been a huge motivation to continue through the moments of self-doubt, I’ve met a wonderful group of writers (and friends) through the longlist, and attending the Women’s Prize for Fiction is an experience I will never forget!’
Read the opening of The Last Card in the Suit
SHORTLIST
Sadbh Kellett, Hunt the Hare
Sadbh is an Irish writer and poet from Meath whose work has been featured as part of Ireland’s Culture Night 2021, at the Out of Orbit visual arts festival, and in anthologies and journals. Sadbh is also a PhD student researching Gaelic Mythology in modern Irish and Scottish Literature at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Previously, she also studied at Trinity College Dublin. Sadbh’s novel is inspired by her Meath surroundings and medieval Irish literature.
‘Shortlisting for Discoveries 2022 was truly a dream come true. It provided me with so many incredible opportunities such as mentorship meetings with different agents, learning about the process of creating audiobooks at Audible, making connections with fellow writers, engaging with writing workshops, and most importantly, meeting my amazing agent, Sabhbh Curran! I highly recommend that anyone who is thinking about submitting for Discoveries 2023 to absolutely go for it!’
Read the opening of Hunt the Hare
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin, The Next Life
Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin is an Irish writer. She lived in London for eight years, working in journalism and social justice communications. Her stories, essays and articles have appeared in Gutter, the New Statesman, The Millions, Sexualities and other publications. She now lives in Edinburgh.
‘I feel like I’ve discovered a new wellspring of support for my writing. The enthusiasm of the readers and judges has built my confidence as I continue to develop my novel and the opportunities for tutoring and feedback have helped me to refine my draft. And in the other longlisted authors – along with all of those who entered – I’ve found a community of talented and thoughtful writers. Working on a novel can be a lonely experience but their friendship, goodwill and insight has made me feel I have company on the road.’
Katy Oglethorpe, Stitches
Katy is currently trying to finish her first novel by typing one-handed as her baby naps on her. Outside maternity leave, she works in communications for a think tank, where she enjoys trying to make clever people's thoughts more intelligible. She is from London, and continues to live there with her partner Ruth and aforementioned baby Willa.
‘Spending your spare time writing a novel you're not convinced will ever be read, published or even finished can often feel like a bit of a futile - or even conceited - exercise. Being shortlisted for the Discoveries prize was an incredible unexpected boost; a sign that I should keep going, even just for the joy of it! I'm so grateful that this prize exists, and that I have been able to be part of the mentoring, advice and connections that it has afforded me so far.’
Ruth Rosengarten, Over
Ruth Rosengarten is an artist, bibliophile and recovering art historian who finds herself currently living with her dog in a village in Cambridgeshire. She has also lived in Israel, South Africa, Portugal, Oxford and London. In lockdown, after years of writing about paintings and photographs and installations and objects, her life changed and she wrote a story, and out of that grew Over, which is still being pieced together in fragments that suit her digressive attention and failure to grasp the concepts of plot and genre. She considers collage to be the principle that best describes both her studio practice and her new writing.
‘I was astonished and thrilled to be part of the Discoveries 2022 longlist, and then shortlist. I have loved the mentoring sessions and opportunities to meet other writers. Most of all, I have loved reading everyone else’s fabulous and varied work, and feeling part of an ongoing community of women writers.’
LONGLIST
Rachel Brown, Shadow Dance
Rachel Brown grew up in a small seaside town in Lancashire. She studied English Language & Literature at the University of Leeds before spending the rest of her twenties working in publishing in Bradford, London and the Caribbean. Following a career change she currently helps students create ideas for start-ups at the University of Greenwich. She wrote her first short stories at university, but it was the long lockdown days of making friends with squirrels in the garden that prompted her to start writing her first novel. Set in two of her favourite locations, London and Ibiza, the novel tells a love story in reverse, exploring the triggers that can throw lives, relationships and careers off course.
‘A friend told me about Discoveries towards the end of 2021. I made a last-minute application to the competition as I’d coincidentally just finished the first 10,000 words of my novel, kicking myself as I didn’t have time to do as thorough an edit as I’d have liked. I’m so glad that I applied. I felt indescribably happy when I found out I’d been longlisted. It wasn’t expected, and it’s encouraged me to take my writing much more seriously – I’m now about to start an MA in Creative Writing which I wouldn’t have done otherwise. In addition to the great writing tutorials from Charlotte Mendelson we also had the opportunity to go to the Women’s Prize party and have been introduced to agents. I now meet monthly with the other longlisted writers and am learning so much from them. I couldn’t recommend the competition more.’
Read the opening of Shadow Dance
Nancy Crane, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World
Nancy Crane is an actor, originally from California, who came to London when she was eighteen to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama. The plan was to return to California three years later, but three decades on she’s still here. She works across theatre, TV, film, radio and narrates the odd audiobook. The novel she’s writing, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, has allowed her to watch lots of old movies and read books about old Hollywood and call it ‘research’. She lives with her wife in London.
Photo by Luce Newman Williams.
‘The reason I entered the Discoveries Prize was to practice sending my book out. It never occurred to me I’d make the longlist! Since then the support has been incredible, not only from the Curtis Brown team, but from the other extraordinary writers on the longlist. And Charlotte Mendelson’s course was game-changing. It opened the book up for me and gave me not only lots of new ideas but, maybe even more importantly, confidence. Since then all of us have stayed in touch. Writing is by its nature solitary and becoming part of this group has been not only unexpected, but joyful and sustaining. All I can say about Discoveries is – Enter!’
Read the opening of The Most Beautiful Woman in the World
Nell McGrath, The Story Library of the Saints
Nell McGrath lives on the Northumberland coast and has an MA in Creative Writing from Northumbria University. She works full time as a GP in an NHS Urgent Treatment Centre, and has three young, football-obsessed boys to keep up with! Writing time can be limited, but she likes to work in cafes and during spare moments. She once won a trip to New York in a short story competition, a feat that has sadly not been repeated!
‘Being part of the Discoveries 2022 longlist was such a positive experience, from the surprise and delight at the initial email to the brilliant Zoom sessions with Charlotte Mendelson. The one-to-one session with Charlotte was particularly useful, providing invaluable insights into my novel in progress. the whole process has increased my confidence as a writer and my motivation to continue: thank you so much. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone starting their writing career: enter! The support has been consistently outstanding.’
Read the opening of The Story Library of the Saints
Rebecca Taylor McKay, Man & Wife
Rebecca was born in West Yorkshire and has a diploma in nursing from Manchester Metropolitan University. She worked as a nurse in the NHS for several years and later as a librarian in public libraries and is now a freelance copywriter. Rebecca has no formal writing qualifications but is a bona fide bookworm who has been escaping into fictional worlds for as long as she can remember and writing her own stories ever since she could hold a pen. She was runner-up in Theatre Cloud’s Gothic Fiction Contest in 2017 and was longlisted in the Penguin Michael Joseph Love Story Competition in 2021. Rebecca lives in Lancashire with her husband and two children and her dog.
‘I wasn’t going to enter Discoveries initially, because I’d only just started working on my novel a few weeks beforehand and I wasn’t sure it would be up to scratch or that I’d even have enough words! I sent my entry in at the eleventh hour and I’m so very glad that I changed my mind at the last minute! I know I’m a writer but I can’t even begin to describe how it felt to get the email telling me I’d been longlisted. Taking part in the Discoveries program has been a fantastic experience and the encouragement and advice I received from Charlotte Mendelson during the course and also from Jess and Lucy, the Curtis Brown agents who took part in the Industry Webinar has been invaluable. I’d 100% encourage anyone thinking about entering to just do it! You never know - your story might be the one that catches the judges’ attention!’
Read the opening of Man & Wife
Zoe Norridge, Unsure
Zoe Norridge is a Reader (Associate Professor) in African and Comparative Literature and Visual Cultures at King’s College London. Her research involves collaborating with Rwandan artists responding to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Translating Yolande Mukagasana’s survivor memoir Not My Time to Die sparked her own need to write. Her first novel, Unsure, is about an interracial couple trying to start a family. She lives in Lewisham with her husband and two children.
‘Being part of Discoveries gave me the support and impetus I needed to finish the first draft of my novel. The course with Charlotte Mendelson was a joy – playful and informative – it helped me to completely rework my opening. Ultimately, I hope that being longlisted will mean that agents at least glance at my manuscript when I send it out. I’m hugely grateful for this opportunity to learn from and connect with other writers.’
Claire O'Connor, The Roof of the World
Claire O’Connor is an educator who has worked with students of many ages in the US, Morocco, Malaysia, Greece, South Africa, and Scotland. Her stories have appeared in New Writing Scotland, the Baltimore Review, the Southern Indiana Review, Shenandoah, Wigleaf, and others. Her story 'Home from the Wars' was a 2022 Best of the Net Finalist in Fiction, and an excerpt from her novel-in-progress previously won The Missouri Review’s Miller Audio Prize for Prose. She lives with her wife in Scotland and various other parts of the world. She is currently a visiting writer at Linfield University in Oregon, USA.
‘The Discoveries 2022 cohort has the most impressive and inspiring writers imaginable (and I have a powerful imagination). I am so grateful for their support on this writing journey. The advice from the agents at Curtis Brown Creative was invaluable, too. Whenever I finish my novel, I feel much more confident about how to proceed.’
Read the opening of The Roof of the World
Tara O'Sullivan, In the Quiet
Tara O’Sullivan is based in London, although she grew up in Cornwall, where her first novel is set. She is a fan of punk rock and horror films, and enjoys exploring darker themes in her writing. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Exeter, and when she isn’t working on her own writing, she edits other people’s books as a freelance editor and proofreader.
‘Being part of the Discoveries Class of 2022 has been a fantastic, affirming and exciting experience. It has been wonderful to connect with so many talented women, and the support and opportunities that have been provided have been incredible.’
Read the opening of In the Quiet
Jude Reid, Dead Spaces
Jude lives in Glasgow and writes dark stories in the narrow gaps between full time work as a surgeon, chasing her kids and trying to tire out a border collie.
Her short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Haunted Voices: An Anthology of Gothic Storytelling from Scotland (Haunt Publishing), Places We Fear To Tread (Cemetery Gates Media) and The Accursed (Black Library).
In 2021 she was commissioned by the National Library of Scotland to write a short story to form part of its Fresh Ink Collection. She was the winner of the Kelpies Prize for Fiction 2020.
In the free time she doesn't have, she likes running, studying ITF Tae Kwon Do and climbing inadvisably big hills. She drinks her tea with oat milk, and you can find her on twitter @squintywitch.
‘Being longlisted for the Discoveries prize was an unexpected joy, and the chance to participate in the course was a fantastic opportunity. The teaching was brilliant and encouraged me to look at my work with fresh eyes, and I have lots of new ideas to take to the second draft. An added delight was getting to know the other participants, explore their work and discuss their comments on my own. All in all, it's been an amazing experience!’
Read the opening of Dead Spaces
Claire Whatley, The Refuge
Claire Whatley lives near Stonehenge in a village on the chalk downland landscape in which her novel, The Refuge is set. Having retired from a career as a librarian, she is currently studying for an MA in English Literature. She is an enthusiastic amateur botanist, environmentalist, gardener and photographer.
‘Being longlisted for the Discoveries Prize has been life-changing in so many ways – I have met some wonderful writers, gained confidence in my writing – and in myself. If you are thinking of entering the competition, just do it!’
Read the opening of The Refuge
Sarah Williams, The Trap
Sarah Williams is a creative writing student at Bath Spa University. This is her first novel. She is a mum of two young children, so when not writing can be found trying to understand the rules of Pokémon, or pretending the floor is lava. She lives in the countryside with her family and the best dog in the world.
‘Discoveries 2022 has been a life-changing experience. Aside from the immediate joy the longlisting gave me, the longer-term benefits have been profound. Working with both Charlotte Mendelson and Curtis Brown Creative was incredible, and for someone like me, who at the longlisting stage was still very early in writing the manuscript, gave vital direction, focus and a confidence that I could actually finish it.
The most valuable part of the process for me, however, has been the priceless relationships forged as part of the programme. The longlistees have continued to work together beyond Discoveries 2022. Everyone brings such unique talent, that, whilst 'imposter syndrome' is very real for me, it's an absolute privilege to work with them. They are the most wonderful cohort of women, inspiring and supporting one another, and I feel blessed to be able to call them friends.’
Discoveries 2023 is open for entries. Find out more and submit by 15 Jan 2023.