Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022,^[1] is an annual literary award presented by British bookseller Waterstones to the best debut fiction published in the previous 12 months. The award is intended to "celebrate[] the very best fresh voices in fiction and share[] the joy and magic of discovering new authors."^[1] Fictional books of all genres are considered, "including genre fiction such as crime, sci-fi and fantasy as well as fiction in translation."^[2][3]

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
Awarded for	Exceptional first novels
Date	25 July 2024
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	Waterstones
First award	2022; 3 years ago (2022)
Website	www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-waterstones-debut-fiction-prize

Award winners receive £5,000^[3] and "the backing of all Waterstones shops."^[2]

Recipients

Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize winners and finalists

Year	Author	Title	Result	Ref.
2022	Tess Gunty	The Rabbit Hutch	Winner	[4]
	Bonnie Garmus	Lessons in Chemistry	Shortlist	[5][6][7]
	Louise Kennedy	Trespasses
	Sequoia Nagamatsu	How High We Go in the Dark
	Eloghosa Osunde	Vagabonds!
	Tara M. Stringfellow	Memphis
2023	Alice Winn	In Memoriam	Winner	[8]
	Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah	Chain-Gang All-Stars	Shortlist	[9]
	Jacqueline Crooks	Fire Rush
	Michael Magee	Close to Home
	Cecile Pin	Wandering Souls
	Colin Walsh	Kala
2024	Ferdia Lennon	Glorious Exploits	Winner	[10][11]
	Kaveh Akbar	Martyr!	Shortlist	[12][13][14]
	Kaliane Bradley	The Ministry of Time
	Josie Ferguson	The Silence in Between
	Hanako Footman	Mongrel
	Rebecca K Reilly	Greta and Valdin
2025	Catherine Airey	Confessions	Shortlist	[15]
	William Rayfet Hunter	Sunstruck
	Gurnaik Johal	Saraswati
	Niamh Ni Mhaoilcoin	Ordinary Saints
	Lisa Ridzén	When The Cranes Fly South
	Lucy Steeds	The Artist