Submissions for the East Anglian Book Awards, which celebrate the outstanding literary culture of our region, are now open.

Now in their 15th year, the East Anglian Book Awards recognise the books and writers who have been shaped by, and have helped to shape, the culture of the East of England.

Since the awards began, they have highlighted the work of over 150 authors, 200 titles and 100 publishers.

Previous winners include multi-award-winning author Melissa Harrison, celebrated writer and naturalist Mark Cocker, and Sarah Perry, who went on to win the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and whose novel The Essex Serpent became a Waterstones Book of the Year.

The award partners are NCW, Jarrold and the Eastern Daily Press. The awards are kindly supported by the University of East Anglia Faculty of Arts & Humanities and the PACCAR Foundation. 

The shortlisted books will be announced in autumn 2022, with the winning titles celebrated in spring 2023. 

Flo Reynolds, our Programme Manager at NCW, said:

‘It’s another exciting year for the East Anglian Book Awards, and we look forward to celebrating and sharing with the world the wonderful stories being told from and about our region.

‘Following two difficult pandemic years when books have brought comfort to so many, it feels like the perfect time to share the power of stories to shine through dark times with writers and readers across East Anglia. 

We’ve therefore extended the timetable of this year’s awards so that our judges and readers have more time to read, enjoy and discuss the entries, before we celebrate together with a special event in spring 2023. We hope you’ll join us in reading and talking about the very special books we’re sure to find. 

‘We wish all the entrants the very best of luck!‘

The awards feature six categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-Fiction, History and Tradition, Biography and Memoir and The Mal Peet Children’s Award.

The prize for the overall Book of the year is £1,000, courtesy of the PACCAR Foundation.

This year will also see the return of the Exceptional Contribution Award, which goes to an individual or organisation who have made an outstanding impact on local story and publishing culture.

For the purposes of the awards, East Anglia is defined as Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, andthe area of Fenland District Council.

Works must have been published for the first time between 31 July 2021 and 05 August 2022, and must have been commercially available in physical bookshops.

They must also be set largely in this area or be written by an author living in the region to qualify.

To enter, books must be submitted digitally in PDF, EPUB and MOBI format.

The deadline for submissions is 12 noon on 05 August 2022.

Find out how to apply →