East Anglian Book Awards 2025 category winners announced

Seven category winners for the East Anglian Book Awards 2025, the region’s leading celebration of writing and publishing talent, have been announced today (Saturday 17 January), including the recipient of the inaugural Debut Novel Award.

The 2025 category winners are:

Biography & Memoir: Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are by Camilla Balshaw (Bedford Square Publishers)
Debut Novel: Silver Harvest by Daryl Fraser (Story Machine)
History & Tradition: Finding the Wayfarer: Physical, Spiritual and Poetic Survival by Emma Rose Barber (Tandem Publishing)
Poetry: Buying the Farm by Eliza O’Toole (Shearsman Books)
Fiction: Florrie: A Football Love Story by Anna Trench (Jonathan Cape)
Children’s Books: Ghost Tide by Jim Cockin (Lightning Books)
General Non-Fiction: Flint Country: A Stone Journey by Laurence Mitchell (Saraband)

Winner of the Debut Novel Award, Daryl Fraser, set Silver Harvest in his hometown of Lowestoft. Described as a heartfelt homage to the town and the people who have lived its streets and sailed from its port, the novel marks a powerful literary debut and was published by East Anglian based publisher, Story Machine.

Daryl said:

‘It means a great deal to me that the work has been recognised and it has given me the confidence to continue writing. Thanks are due to my local publisher, Story Machine, and to the National Centre for Writing, whose excellent courses helped guide me in the art of fiction. I feel spurred on to complete the sequel!’

Former broadcaster and journalist Jim Cockin won the Children’s Books category for Ghost Tide, his first children’s novel, published in late 2024. The book follows fourteen-year-old Charlie, sent to the East Anglian coast for the Christmas holidays — only to uncover a chilling ghostly adventure.

Jim said:

‘I’m honoured and delighted that Ghost Tide has won this fantastic award. It’s a story with deep East Anglian roots and I hope young readers everywhere will enjoy this ghostly adventure. I loved writing it, and huge thanks to everyone who has helped get the book out into the world and onto the shelves.’

It means a great deal to me that the work has been recognised and it has given me the confidence to continue writing.

Daryl Fraser, author of Silver Harvest

The category winners now go forward to compete for the prestigious £1,000 Book of the Year Award, which will be announced at a celebratory event on Thursday 12 February at 6.30pm, at the National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall. The evening will feature conversations with the category winners about their creative journeys and the influence of East Anglia on their work. Tickets cost £8 and are available to purchase here.

The event will also unveil the recipient of the first-ever City of Literature Award, supported by Norwich UNESCO City of Literature. This new honour recognises individuals and organisations making an outstanding contribution to the region’s literary life through community engagement, publishing innovation, or literary advocacy. Decided by public vote, the shortlisted nominees are Mai Black, Lotte L.S., Norfolk Reading Project, Poets in the Cellar, and George Szirtes.

Holly Ainley, Head of Programmes & Creative Engagement at the National Centre for Writing, said:

‘The East Anglian Book Awards are about celebrating the extraordinary depth and diversity of writing talent across our region, and their significance feels especially powerful as we look ahead to the Year of Reading 2026. At a time when encouraging a lifelong love of reading has never been more important, these awards shine a light not only on brilliant writers, but on the bookshops and libraries that champion them — the welcoming, creative spaces where stories are discovered, shared and kept alive. Together, they form a vital ecosystem that connects readers, writers and communities across East Anglia.’

‘Congratulations to the category winners; I can’t wait to read each of their books as part of the judging panel for the overall Book of the Year!’

At a time when encouraging a lifelong love of reading has never been more important, these awards shine a light not only on brilliant writers, but on the bookshops and libraries that champion them.

Holly Ainley, Head of Programmes & Creative Engagement at the National Centre for Writing

Now in their eighteenth year, the awards are presented by the National Centre for Writing, in partnership with Eastern Daily Press and Norwich UNESCO City of Literature, with support from UEA’s Faculty of Arts & Humanities.

The 2025 awards mark an exciting expansion, with eligibility extended to books and writers from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Eligible titles must have been published between 6 August 2024 and 5 August 2025 and be commercially available in physical bookshops.

Join us for a celebration of East Anglian writing

Next month, join us for a celebratory evening showcasing the books, writers, and publishers shaped by East Anglia’s rich literary and cultural landscape.

The evening will celebrate the category winners of the East Anglian Book Awards 2025, culminating in the announcement of the Book of the Year and the inaugural City of Literature Award.

Thursday 12 February, 6.30pm, National Centre for Writing, £8

Book here

The 2025 category winners are:

Thursday 12 February, 6.30pm, National Centre for Writing, £8

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