Exceptional writing

The Gordon Burn Prize recognises exceptional writing which has an unconventional perspective, style or subject matter and often defies easy categorisation. It celebrates literary outliers and daring and experimental work that often speaks to broader societal issues. The winning author will receive £10,000 and the chance to undertake a writing retreat at Gordon Burn’s cottage in Berwickshire.

The 12 books on the longlist are:

• TonyInterruptor, Nicola Barker (Granta)
• Deviants, Santanu Bhattacharya (Fig Tree)
• We Pretty Pieces of Flesh, Colwill Brown (Chatto & Windus)
• One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad (Canongate)
• The Benefactors, Wendy Erskine (Sceptre)
• Helm, Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber)
• This Part Is Silent: A Life Between Cultures, SJ Kim (&Other Stories)
• Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line, Elizabeth Lovatt (Dialogue Books)
• Death of an Ordinary Man, Sarah Perry (Jonathan Cape)
• Endling, Maria Reva (Virago)
• A Room Above a Shop, Anthony Shapland (Granta)
• Night of the Living Rez, Morgan Talty (&Other Stories)

Founded in 2012 by New Writing North, Faber and the Gordon Burn Trust, the Gordon Burn Prize has built a reputation for identifying and celebrating brilliant books that often find their readers outside the mainstream.

The shortlist will be announced in January 2026, and the prize will be awarded on 5 March 2026 at Northern Stage in the late Gordon Burn’s home city, Newcastle upon Tyne. The prize is supported by Newcastle University and NCLA (the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts).

Judges

The longlist was selected by the Gordon Burn Prize 2026 judges:

• Val McDermid (chair), international number one bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her multi-award-winning series and standalone novels have been adapted for TV and radio, most notably Wire in the Blood and Karen Pirie, both ITV.
• Nooruddean Choudry, journalist, author, and broadcaster who specialises in football, social issues, culture, and politics.
• Freya McClements, journalist and author, and Northern Correspondent with The Irish Times and author of the short story collection The Dangerous Edge of Things (Guildhall Press).
• Andrew McMillan, poet, and writer. His debut collection of poetry, physical, was the only poetry book to ever win the Guardian First Book Award and his debut novel, Pity (Canongate) was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.
• Jude Rogers, writer, and broadcaster from Wales who regularly contributes to The Guardian, the Observer, Elle, and New Statesman.

Val McDermid, Chair of judges, said: “It's been a genuine thrill for me to be involved with judging the Gordon Burn Prize. It's a remarkable longlist and it represents the range and quality of what's being published right now. I've made exciting discoveries but also been filled with delight and respect to see other writers grow and develop. It's so important that we recognise writers who are pushing their forms in unexpected directions. Whittling this down to a shortlist of six will be hard; picking a winner nigh-on impossible!”

Professor Jo Fox, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Newcastle University, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Gordon Burn Trust and Faber to support this year’s Gordon Burn Prize. Newcastle University is known for its world-leading work in Creative Writing and our commitment to nurturing writing talent alongside our regional partners, is strong. Supporting the Gordon Burn Prize is a fundamental part of this work.”

Rebecca Wilkie, Senior Programme Manager (Festival and Events), New Writing North, said: "This year’s Gordon Burn Prize longlist brings together twelve brilliant books from writers whose work spans genre and form, as Gordon Burn’s did before them. From urgent non-fiction about what it means to live in the Western world today, to a fictional depiction of girls coming of age in Doncaster, told in their distinctive vernacular, to the lives of three generations of gay men in India, this longlist seamlessly blends regional and global perspectives and experiences. This gripping longlist introduces readers to new voices, adventurous ideas and narratives from beyond the mainstream."

Press release with thanks to New Writing North