Winners of the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize
First awarded in 2016, the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize has recognised the following authors for their excellent work in the adventure genre.
Adventure Writing Prize
2025 Best Published Novel winner: Babylonia by Costanza Casati
2024 Best Published Novel winner: Saltblood by Francesca de Tores
2023 Best Published Novel winner: No Country for Girls by Emma Styles
2022 Best Published Novel winner: Where Blood Runs Cold by Giles Kristian
2021 Best Published Novel winner: Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce
2019 Best Published Novel winner: Firefly by Henry Porter
2018 Best Published Novel winner: A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee
2017 Best Published Novel winner: Under a Pole Star by Stef Penney
2016 Best Published Novel winner: The Tears of Dark Water by Corban Addison
New Voices Award
The inaugural New Voices writers were selected in September 2022. Prior to this, we ran the Best Unpublished Manuscript award, which you can find below.
Best Unpublished Manuscript
2020 Best Unpublished Manuscript winner: Cave Diver by Jake Avila
- Cave Diver is published by Bonnier Zaffre in the UK, and Echo Publishing in Australia.
2019 Best Unpublished Manuscript winner: What We Did at the End by Cecily Blench
- The Long Journey Home (previously titled What We Did at the End) is published by Bonnier Zaffre in the UK
2018 Best Unpublished Manuscript winner: Blood in the Dust by Bill Swiggs
- Blood in the Dust is published by Bonnier Zaffre in the UK and in Australia by Allen & Unwin.
2017 Best Unpublished Manuscript winner: Holliday by Matt Di Paoli
2016 Best Unpublished Manuscript winner: The Hum of the Sun by Kirsten Miller
- The Hum of the Sun was published by Kwela Books in April 2018 in South Africa