Welcome to the international award for thrillers in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered.

Running since 2018, this unique prize is welcomed by readers all over the world, many of whom had given up on thrillers because of the increasingly graphic violence towards women in the genre. We’re proud to create a little elbow-room for all the clever, exciting and engaging stories out there – published or unpublished – by authors who have found something a bit more original to write about!

STAUNCH BOOK PRIZE is the original thriller novel prize. This award is taking a break for 2021 while we launch The Staunch Test – rating film and TV thrillers for violence to women.

The SHORT STORY and FLASH FICTION prizes are open from March 1st to August 1st 2021 and follow the same criteria as the novel prize – no violence to women. Entry is Free HERE.

Go to WINNERS in the top menu to see previous shortlists and winners in all categories.

 

NEW!Staunch Test logo

Introducing

The Staunch Test

Rating violence to women on screen!

Every day, films and TV shows serve up stories of violence against women and call it entertainment.

How did normalising violence to women become a something popular culture sells?

Why have we let audiences  become desensitised to seeing women brutalised?

It’s time to make the link between what the entertainment industry dishes up for fun,

and what men dish out to women for real.

Head over to The Staunch Test website to learn more, and to rate a film or TV thriller as a

Staunch Test Pass

Staunch Test Fail or

Staunch Test Debate!