OPPORTUNITY: Shadow the Shortlist

Book Clubs! Are you craving your next adventure? Well, we have you covered! 

Whether you're an adventure aficionado, or a literary type looking to try something new, you and your book club can get involved by applying to review the books shortlisted for this year's Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. 

We are inviting twelve UK-based reading groups to shadow the judging process. Each group will receive a set (up to ten copies) of one shortlisted book to read and review by 11 August, and (drumroll, please!) participating clubs will be invited to discuss the novel with the author themselves!

Your thoughts will then be shared with the judges, all either literary or adventure experts, before they make their final decision and the winner announced in September.

Interested? Act fast and apply here. 

"I just wanted to thank you again for the amazing experience that Farnham Young Adult Book Club have had shadowing the Best Published Novel prize. We've been so grateful for everything! Our meeting with Derek has been the highlight of the whole year for us, and I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that most of our members donated their copy of 'The Curse of Pietro Houdini' to Surrey Libraries so that they can be enjoyed by even more people." - Farnham Young Adult Book Club

Which books are on the 2025 shortlist?

Hand-selected by a panel of librarians and library staff from the UK, the titles were nominated for their bold ideas, ability to transport a reader, and irresistible power to make us turn the next page. Submissions were open to writers of all nationalities, writing in English, and American, British, Filipina and Jamaican authors are represented on this year’s shortlist. 

Babylonia by Costanza Casati
Sycorax by Nydia Hetherington
Redemption by Jack Jordan
A House for Miss Pauline by Diana McCaulay
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis

What will you be looking for?

"I’m excited to read the shortlisted novels. I’ll be looking for books in which the adventure is not just in the subject matter but also in the language – vibrant novels that dare to take risks, and to expand our understanding of what adventure writing can be." - Francesca de Tores, Author and Judge

We know what makes an adventure for us, but we want to hear what makes it for you.