An annual award of £10,000 for a debut novelist or non-fiction writer first published in any form aged 50 or over.
The 2026 prize is now closed for entry. The winner will be selected by judges A.L. Kennedy, Louise Kennedy and Derek Owusu. A shortlist and winner will be announced in 2026.Please ensure you have read and understood the eligibility and guidelines prior to entering.
The Prize was launched in 2018 and first awarded in 2019, thanks to the generosity of the family and friends of Lady Jennie Bland, in memory of Sir Christopher Bland who died in 2017. Sir Christopher is best known for his leadership in broadcasting, the arts and business. He didn’t start writing until after his retirement publishing two novels to critical acclaim: Ashes in the Wind and Cathar. His play The Easter Rising and Thereafter was staged by the Jermyn Street Theatre in 2016 – 100 years to the day after the uprising in Dublin.
The Prize
- A prize of £10,000 will be awarded to the author of the work that the judges consider to be the best eligible entry. This may be a work of fiction or non-fiction, including writing for young adults. The prize may not be divided or withheld.
- The judges will be responsible for compiling a shortlist of outstanding books. This will be announced in summer 2026 and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter.
- The Prize is administered in all respects by the Royal Society of Literature.
Eligible Books
- The Prize is open to writers aged 50 or over at the time of publication, for their first published work of fiction or non-fiction. Proof of date of birth will be requested at the point of judging.
- The writer must not have had published by a trade publisher, or self-published, a book of any kind or under any other name prior to the publication of the work entered into the Prize. This includes collections of poetry or short fiction, or academic non-fiction.
- The writer must be a citizen of, or resident in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland (RoI).
- The book must be a unified work. Collections of short stories, novellas, poetry and drama are not eligible.
- Books originally written in another language, and translated into English, are not eligible.
- All entries must be published (in any format) for the first time in the UK or RoI within the calendar year 2025, i.e. January-December 2025. Self-published books are not eligible.
- A book submitted on behalf of an author who was deceased at the date of publication will not be eligible for consideration.
Entry of Books
- Fill out all the details on the entry form. Submissions will only be accepted from by trade publishers or agents based in the UK or RoI (regardless of the author’s citizenship or residency). Authors may not enter themselves.
- Each publisher, imprint of a publisher or agent may enter two books only.
- Each publisher or agent may also submit a list of up to three further fiction or non-fiction titles for the judges to call in. These should be accompanied by a justification of not more than 1,250 characters for each submission. Please do not send in or upload the call-in titles unless requested. While the judges are not obliged to call in any of these titles, they are also at liberty to call in eligible titles that have not been
- Three copies of your main entry (not call-in titles) should be sent to:
RSL Christopher Bland Prize
Royal Society of Literature
Somerset House
London
WC2R 1LA
Books must not be sent direct to the judges and no books submitted can be returned. - If you have a digital copy of the book, please upload this as an epub file when filling out the entry form. There should be no watermarks or crop marks, and we ask that the cover and copyright page are included.