The second year of Staunch Book Prize was as full of surprises as the first! Once again we received an astonishing number of entries from around the world. For those who thought that finding thrillers which would fit our unusual criteria would be impossible, rest assured. There are so many authors out there writing well-crafted, thought-provoking work featuring original ideas, exciting settings and brilliantly drawn characters.

This years’ collection saw thrillers in every genre: contemporary, historical, action, political, sci-fi, LGBT, action, psychological, comedy and of course, crime.

We keep our entries open to self-published and unpublished work, as the sheer domination of crime fiction in the thriller market – much of which features sexual violence towards women and an abundance of female murder victims – makes it harder for thrillers that don’t feature those things to find their place – and for readers to find them. We are always happy to share unpublished and unrepresented entries with publishers and agents. See the sidebar.

Screen adaptations

Two of our 2018 shortlisted titles have been picked up for TV series: Alison Gaylin’s IF I DIE TONIGHT and Peter Adamson’s THE KENNEDY MOMENT.  On our 2019 shortlist, French writer Hannelore Cayre’s THE GODMOTHER is being made into a feature film starring Isabelle Huppert

Please get in touch via the ENQUIRIES form if you have any questions or requests. And sign up for our NEWSLETTER to be kept up to date with developments during the year!