Prize Sponsors
The Prize has been consistently supported by Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants since its inception and we are grateful for ACE’s commitment to the Prize’s aims. In turn, this ongoing support has enabled a large platform of writers a diverse range of development opportunities, from public speaking engagements at major festivals and events to workshops, 1:1 mentoring, coaching and the opportunity to be part of a growing network of writers.
Find out more at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk
The Prize was an initiative of Soroptimist International of Leeds and SI Leeds continues to be a core partner and sponsor of the award, more than 15 years after its inception. We are delighted to work closely with the SI Leeds Club and its members, particularly on the development of the SI Readers’ Choice award, presented to the favourite entry from the shortlist chosen by a growing group of volunteer readers including members of Soroptimist International.
Find out more at https://www.sileedsliteraryprize.com/si-leeds/
WritersMosaic is pleased to be a new partner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize. As a division of the Royal Literary Fund, WritersMosaic is an innovative magazine, reflecting the changing identity and reality of contemporary Britain. Our readers can expect Informal, multi-voiced, writer-to-writer podcasts, along with features and new reviews of cultural events, updated on our website every Wednesday. Our themed original series from writers, editors, thinkers and artists are published online and as a print quarterly in the Bookseller, with issues including Iranian Women’s writing and centenary celebrations of Franz Fanon and Malcolm X. WritersMosaic will be supporting the 2026 Prize by commissioning and publishing extracts from the shortlisted Prize writers in our online magazine.
Find out more at https://writersmosaic.org.uk
Founding Partners
Word Up North is a literature development organisation based in West Yorkshire. The roots of our organisation lie within the long-running Ilkley Literature Festival, a highlight of the UK literary calendar which we continue to programme and produce, consisting of around 120 live-literature events across a two-week period each October. We are proud to be an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and to receive regular funding from Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
Today, Word Up North’s delivers year-round programmes of work across four activity strands. New Writing and Talent Development – under which sits our partnering of the SI Leeds Literary Prize, Children and Young People, Creative Communities and Live and Online Literature events.
You can find out more about the Ilkley Literature Festival at ilkleylitfest.org.uk
Watch Erica Morris, Word Up North’s Director, explain why they partner with the Prize.
Peepal Tree Press is home of the best in Caribbean and Black British fiction, poetry, literary criticism, memoirs and historical studies. Founded in 1985 by Jeremy Poynting, Leeds-based Peepal Tree can now celebrate over 40 years of publishing and writer development. The publishers have grown to become the world’s largest publisher of Caribbean and Black British writing. Peepal Tree publish around 10 books a year, and have over 450 Caribbean and Black British books published to date. They publish established names such as Earl Lovelace, Kwame Dawes and Beryl Gilroy alongside lots of exciting new voices. In 2009 they launched the acclaimed Caribbean Modern Classics Series, which restores to print essential classic books from the 1950s and 60s.
Peepal Tree Press is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, and is also home to Inscribe, a project which offers professional development opportunities for Black and Asian writers in the UK. Peepal Tree is highly committed to the development of writers, whether formally as part of the Inscribe programme, or as part of their ongoing relationship with the authors we publish.
Find out more at www.peepaltreepress.com
Watch Hannah Bannister explain Peepal Tree Press’s relationship with the Prize, and the role it plays in the UK’s literary scene.
Partners
Arvon is the UK’s home of creative writing, offering a wide range of in-person and online courses led by acclaimed writers. From poetry and fiction to screenwriting and memoir, our courses cater to writers of all levels, providing expert guidance, inspiration, and a supportive community. Alongside an extensive online programme of Writing Days, Weeks, Months, and Masterclasses, Arvon hosts immersive Residential Courses in historic countryside houses. Here, writers can step away from daily life to focus on their craft and make real progress on their projects.
In partnership with the SI Leeds Literary Prize, Arvon supports emerging writers through a range of opportunities. Each year, the Prize’s first-place winner receives a fully funded place on an Arvon residential course, while runners-up are offered an Arvon at Home Masterclass. Between Prize cycles, Arvon also provides a place on an Online Writing Week as part of the Space to Write bursary.
Find out more at https://www.arvon.org
The Bank of England developed The Money Anthology in collaboration with the Prize; this is a collection of eight original works that explore the complexities of money and our relationship with it and is edited by the best-selling author, Saima Mir.
The stories range from 800 to 1,200 words and investigate how financial considerations can shape personal identity, influence career paths and affect relationships. The stories are written to spark debate and discussion in the classroom, and encourage students to explore key financial concepts and reflect on their own relationships with money.
Each story comes with recommended activities designed to complement the English curriculum, for use during form time or as part of a pastoral curriculum. These lessons are aligned with the following specifications:
- GCSE English Language
- GCSE English Literature
- National 5 English
We developed these resources with Jenny Webb, an experienced English teacher, author and blogger, and Gemma Molyneux who works in teacher education. A series of webinars exploring classroom approaches to using the anthology are also available.
Access the Money Anthology via TES
Founded in 2020, we have supported over 30,000 writers through daily silent writing sessions, live interviews with award-winning authors, craft workshops, accountability programmes, and our online magazine. Today, we are one of the most engaged online writing communities in the world.
Our mission is to empower the world to write and help every person realise their creative potential through writing. We are proud to support the SI Leeds Literary Prize.
To join Writers’ Hour, visit writershour.com. For access to interviews, events and programmes, visit londonwriterssalon.com.
Find out more at https://londonwriterssalon.com
Find out more at https://lutonliterature.co.uk
Our mission is to help women express themselves and get their writing noticed: in print, online and in performance.
We produce the bestselling quarterly magazine for women who write – where every reader is a potential contributor too. We publish over 70 names in every issue, so you might find your work alongside award-winning authors such as R F Kuang, Eliza Clark, Liz Berry, Diana Evans, Val McDermid or Alice Oseman. Every issue includes fiction, nonfiction, short story, flash fiction and poetry.
But Mslexia is not just a magazine. We run life-changing competitions, which have propelled the careers of many women writers to the next level. We also host the Salon, where members can attend writing surgeries, Q&As, and our famous Agent Extravaganza. Then there’s the Indie Press Guide, the Mslexia Minis writing guides, and our writer’s Diary & Planner – all designed to kickstart your creativity. Mslexia has supported the SI Readers’ Choice award since 2012.
Find out more at https://mslexia.co.uk
New Writing North leads the development of creative writing and reading in the North of England. We run open-access and targeted talent development programmes for writers, programme regular literary events, provide educational and skills development opportunities, and deliver community engagement projects that encourage reading and writing. New Writing North has been pleased to partner with the SI Leeds Literary Prize over several years, providing support by offering the shortlisted writers access to various writer development opportunities. This includes the chance to attend the Talent Salon, an in-person networking event in London which brokers links between talented emerging writers and publishing industry professionals. We also offer writers with support and pitching training in advance of the Talent Salon, and our Talent Development team offers shortlisted writers one-to-one support and invites them to attend selected programmed activities. We have found the SI Leeds writers to be highly talented and deeply committed to their craft.
Find out more at https://newwritingnorth.com
The Literary Consultancy has spent 30 years harnessing the transformative power of objective, professional feedback through its core manuscript assessment service. Since 1996, TLC and its team of world-class professional editors have worked with writers writing in English at all levels, across all genres. TLC also offers mentoring, and is home to Being A Writer, a membership platform for writers who want to create happier, healthier writing habits. All of TLC’s programming is grounded in the central belief that cultivating personal value in writing is the key to a flourishing literary ecology.
We are proud to partner with the SI Leeds Literary Prize, a vital platform for Black and Asian women writers, whose voices are often marginalised by the publishing industry. At TLC, we believe that professional intervention and fair, objective critique are key enablers that unlock creative potential and produce the most resilient writers. We particularly value the prize’s focus on writer development, as it mirrors our own commitment to equipping authors with the context, confidence, and skills they need to thrive and flourish on their own terms.
Find out more at https://literaryconsultancy.co.uk
The Written Academy is a writing productivity and coaching organisation founded by Chris Smith and Bec Evans, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit that Lasts. It helps individuals and organisations develop more productive, sustainable relationships with writing – addressing the blocks, distractions and self-doubt that so often get in the way.
In 2026, the Written Academy is partnering with the SI Leeds Literary Prize to support a group of their writers through one-to-one coaching and workshops.
The Written Academy works with writers across all genres – fiction, creative writing, memoir, business and academic writing – as well as with literary festivals, writing groups and events organisations looking to offer their communities expert coaching and practical support.
Find out more at https://www.writtenacademy.com
