Inaugural winner of the J&N Fiction Prize 2025 is Georgia May Dart's Scabbawath!

We’re delighted to announce the winner of the inaugural Janklow & Nesbit UK Fiction Prize 2025 is Georgia May Dart with her entry Scabbawath. The project, which was chosen from a stellar shortlist of 4, is a literary debut which follows a young woman living at an isolated North Yorkshire farm, as she and those around her struggle for control of the land – and love for each other. The six judges – including Sceptre’s Executive Publisher, Fede Andornino thought “reading Scabbawath I was immediately transported to the wilderness of the North and then firmly immersed in the lives of Georgia May Dart’s brilliantly realised characters. A promising start for a talented writer.” Another judge, Kate Weinberg, author of There is Nothing Wrong with Her, praised the entry as: “Original, powerful writing, setting and strong, memorable characterisation. Lots of heart in this one.”

Georgia says: “I am thrilled, grateful and surprised to have been chosen as the overall winner! When I began this novel I wanted to write a love story that felt raw, honest and informed by my own experiences. I'm moved and really happy that this chimed with the judges. What has meant most to me at each stage of the competition was the encouragement from the lovely Janklow team, and the knowledge that my novel was being read by others.”

The Janklow & Nesbit Fiction Prize was established in 2025 in a bid to find the best new voices in contemporary fiction; the theme for this year’s prize was ‘exquisitely-told’ love stories. Georgia May Dart, our winner, will receive a prize fund of £2,000, a one-to-one session with the Executive Publisher at Sceptre Books, and be supported by Janklow & Nesbit in writing to the end of their novel with an offer of representation. Many congratulations, Georgia!

We also are so grateful to everyone who shared their work and took part in this prize!