Longlist Revealed - 2022 Best Published Novel

We are delighted to announce the longlist for the annual Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, Best Published Novel.

The following twelve authors and their most recent novels are in the running for the £10,000 prize:

Rosie Andrews THE LEVIATHAN (Raven Books)

Rory Clements THE MAN IN THE BUNKER (Bonnier Books UK)

Richard Cullen OATH BOUND (Head of Zeus)

Chris Hadfield THE APOLLO MURDERS (Quercus)

Kim Hughes OPERATION BLACK KEY (Simon & Schuster UK)

Giles Kristian WHERE BLOOD RUNS COLD (Bantam Press, Transworld Publishers)

John Marrs THE VACATION (Pan, Pan Macmillan)

T.L. Mogford THE PLANT HUNTER (Welbeck Publishing Group)

Chibundu Onuzo SANKOFA (Virago, Little, Brown Book Group)

Lizzie Pook MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER’S DAUGHTER (Mantle, Pan Macmillan)

Anuradha Roy THE EARTHSPINNER (Mountain Leopard Press, Welbeck Publishing Group)

Jonathan Spencer EMPEROR OF DUST (Canelo)  

This year we are recognising the best adventure fiction published between 1st May 2021 and 30th April 2022. The Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English. The Prize welcomes the diversity of adventure as a genre, looking for the novels which both honour the traditions of adventure and are unafraid to try something new. 

Our congratulations to each of the authors selected for the longlist. 

Niso Smith, Founder of The Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation, commented:

‘Adventure is about possibility, taking chances, opening your mind and often your heart. We don’t always have a choice whether to take the adventure or not, it takes us. Each of these books fizz with the energy of unexpected adventure. They will transport you and teach you something new about the way you see the world.’

The Prize draws together a team of librarians and library staff from across the UK to select a longlist that encompasses ‘An Adventure for Everyone.’ The panel considered 129 submissions from publishers and literary agents, by authors from across the world, including Canada, France Germany, Greece, India, Nigeria, the UK and the USA.

From the longlist, six titles will be selected by the same panel to progress to the shortlist, after which the titles progress to the expert judging panel. The Prize will also include a public vote over the summer with the reader’s choice equating to one seat on the judging panel. 

Read what the idea of adventure means to the judges here. 

Read more about each of the novels here.

The shortlist for Best Published Novel will be revealed on 25th May 2022 and the overall winner on 21st September 2022.

Have you read any of these novels? Tell us what you think on twitter @Wilbur_Niso_Fdn #AdventureWritingPrize, or why not go a get a copy from your local library or bookshop?