Judges announced for the inaugural Great Northern Read Award
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RJ Barker, the critically acclaimed author of award-winning fantasy fiction including the Tide Child trilogy, The Wounded Kingdom trilogy and The Forsaken trilogy, will judge the inaugural Great Northern Read Award.
He will be joined on the judging panel by Rosanna Forte, Publishing Director at Fontana Books (HarperCollins), and Anna Power, Managing Director of Johnson & Alcock literary agency.
The Great Northern Read Award is a new addition to the Northern Writers’ Awards, and was devised by Johnson & Alcock to offer an exciting opportunity for emerging writers of gripping and immersive fiction across all genres who are looking to take the next step towards publication.
The award offers £2500 and bespoke mentoring with representatives from Johnson & Alcock to one debut writer of a stand–out, page-turning novel. It is open to unagented and unpublished writers who are currently living in the North of England.
RJ Barker will also join us on Monday 8 December for a free online Genre Writing Roadshow, alongside Anna Power from Johnson & Alcock and Sarah Shaffi from the Future Worlds Prize, to offer advice on writing compelling fiction, navigating the writing industries as a genre writer, and applying for the Great Northern Read Award and the Future Worlds Prize. Book a free place.
“Here at Johnson & Alcock, we’re passionate about working with new writers, so we’re delighted to be teaming up with New Writing North and our stellar judges to help discover and nurture a new generation of great Northern novelists. We’re very excited to see the breadth of storytelling talent out there.” Anna Power, Johnson & Alcock
“We can’t wait to read the many mind-blowing submissions I’m sure we’ll receive for this exciting new award. Selecting a winner from such an extraordinary pool of Northern talent is an exacting task but in RJ, Anna and Rosanna we have judges with exactly the experience, enthusiasm and dedication we need. Huge thanks to our brilliant judges and to J&A for bringing this opportunity to life.” Will Mackie, Senior Programme Manager (Talent Development), New Writing North
The Great Northern Read Award will open for entries from 25 November 2025 to 5 February 2026. Find out more here.