Society of Authors' Betty Trask Award

The Society of Authors' Awards are run for authors and judged by authors, annually recognising the best and most promising voices of the year. This year's event is generously supported by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). Our awards for fiction are open to work from writers at all stages of their careers, from short stories to novels, and we accept submissions from both self-published and traditionally-published authors.

WINNER 2025

Winter Animals

Lewis, Ashani ISBN: 9780349703312
Paperback / softback

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In one of America's Happiest Cities, thirty-eight-year-old Elen is trapped under the shadow of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains. Her husband has left her. Her belongings are in the boot of her car. Her days are filled mostly with silence and drinking. When she meets four English teenagers in an empty bar, she is enamoured. Luka, Clover, George and Lyn are wealthy squatters, drifting between ski resorts and breaking into empty AirBnBs. When they bring Elen into their fold - and into their messy, entangled relationships - she senses a violent secret that fuels the four's never-ending disappearing act. Dazzling, cultish and intensely committed to creating their own utopia, they force Elen to ruminate on the irresistible pull of bright young things. She doesn't understand what they want from her, but how can she leave when she has nowhere else to go?

A dark meditation on the dangers and seductive power of youthful idealism, and the slippages between friendship and love.

- Browns Books Synopsis

We also administer two awards that celebrate the best in non-fiction writing from young authors. Our poetry awards are amongst the most prestigious in the UK. They celebrate excellence in poetry from those just starting out as well those established in their careers.