DRF shortlisted book 'The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock' published.
We are delighted to announce the publication of The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar this month by Harvill Secker. The debut novel was shortlisted for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers’ Award in 2016, selected out of 885 entries. We wish Imogen all the best with the book and her future writing.
Fellow shortlisted title The Crossway by Guy Stagg will be published in June and the 2016 winner, Ponti, by Sharlene Teo, will be published in April, both by Picador.
‘Roll up, roll up, a true wonder is on display: a mermaid magicked out of words.’ – the Guardian
News
'Our summer newsletter is full of introductions - to the talented writers who have generously agreed to give up their time to judge the 2027 Deborah Rogers Award, and to the two young people who have won a place in this autumn's David Miller Internship Programme.' Gill Coleridge, Founder of the DRF
Bernardine Evaristo chairs a panel of three judges. Two past winners celebrate publication in 2027.
Neil Rollinson’s The Dead Don’t Bleed, winner of the 2025 Deborah Rogers Award is published by Jonathan Cape to great acclaim
Mathelinda Nabugodi’s book of essays, The Trembling Hand: Reflections of a Black Woman in the Romantic Archive, is published by Hamish Hamilton. The Trembling Hand was winner of the 2021 Deborah Rogers Award.
"We started the year celebrating an exciting publishing deal for Deborah Rogers
Award winner, Saranya Murthi, and the news that both the David Miller
Internship...
The DRF David Miller Internship Programme returns in a new partnership with New Writing North. Two paid internships providing an entry level insight into rights and agenting in publishing.
Erica Wagner announces Saranya Murthi's novel RATRI as winner of the 2025 Deborah Rogers Award. June Aming and Piers Kobina Buckman were shortlisted for their novels. The winner receives £10k and the two shortlisted writers, £3k each.
The judges of the 2025 Deborah Rogers Award—renowned author and literary critic Erica Wagner (chair), award-winning playwright and poet Inua Ellams, and acclaimed writer, classicist, and broadcaster Natalie Haynes —are pleased to announce the three contenders for this year's prize.
The Deborah Rogers Foundation (DRF) marks a decade of supporting emerging literary talent with a refreshed identity for its flagship prize, now renamed the Deborah Rogers Award.
On 4 November, judges Erica Wagner, Inua Ellams and Natalie Haynes will award the winner £10,000 to complete their first book, with highly commended entries receiving £3,000 each.