We’re pleased to announce the 12 authors longlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2026, whose eclectic submissions spanned a range of settings, genres and styles, from short story collections to crime, those set in specific periods of history and exploring a real breadth of times and places.
The judges commented on the quality of the writing, with some particularly compelling and evocative writing, well rounded characters and strong world building.
We’re looking forward to returning to the 12 longlisted manuscripts for reading in greater depth ahead of further discussions between the judging panel in September, when we’ll announce the six books shortlisted for this year’s award.
The longlisted manuscripts for this year’s prize are:
- It’s All Too Beautiful, Yasmin Ali
- Almost Home, Snehal Amembal
- Murder on the Moon, Nida Broughton
- A Long Ways from Home, Jac Felipez
- The Killing of Uncle Raj, Shabnam Grewal
- Each Night She Jumps, Tara Guha
- How to Bury Your Daughters, Sumaya Kassim
- Psychotic Episodes, H.D. Kaur
- Where Your Hand Can Reach, Memuna Konteh
- Comets, Isabella Peralta
- Shale, Kim Squirrell
- Deity of a Drowning Realm, K. Andrea White
Thank you to all the writers who entered this year’s prize – we had our highest number of entries and were delighted to see so much quality writing!
