The Encore Award

We are currently closed for entries for this Award, please sign up to our monthly newsletter to be informed of when we are taking submissions for the next round.

The Encore Award was first presented in 1990 to celebrate the achievement of outstanding second novels. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes. The RSL has administrated the award since 2016.

The 2020 Award

We are delighted to announce the winner of the 2020 Encore Award is Patrick McGuinness with Throw Me to the Wolves (Jonathan Cape). This is the 30th year of the Award.

The judges are RSL Fellows: Edmund Gordon, Nikita Lalwani and Eley Williams.

Please read the press release for further information.

Other books on the 2020 Shortlist were:

• David Keenan – For the Good Times (Faber & Faber)
• Billy O’Callaghan – My Coney Island Baby (Jonathan Cape)
• Shiromi Pinto – Plastic Emotions (Influx Press)
• Luiza Sauma – Everything You Ever Wanted (Viking)

Press enquiries should be sent to Annette Brook, Communications Manager, annette.brook@rsliterature.org.

For questions about awards and prizes, please contact Martha Stenhouse, General Manager, martha.stenhouse@rsliterature.org.

Watch the 2020 winner announcement below:

 

In celebration of the 30th year of the Award previous winners share their reflections on winning best second novel:

Past Awards
*Joint winners

2019	Sally Rooney	Normal People
2018*	Andrew Michael Hurley Lisa McInerney	Devil’s Day The Blood Miracles
2017	Ian McGuire	The North Water
2015	Sunjeev Sahota	The Year of the Runaways
2014	Neel Mukherjee	The Lives of Others
2013	Evie Wyld	All the Birds, Singing
2012	Ned Beauman	The Teleportation Accident
2011	Joe Dunthorne	Wild Abandon
2010	Adam Foulds	The Quickening Maze
2009	Julia Leigh	Disquiet
2007	M.J. Hyland	Carry Me Down
2005	Nadeem Aslam	Maps for Lost Lovers
2004	Michelle de Kretser	The Hamilton Case
2003	Jeremy Gavron	The Book of Israel
2002	Ali Smith	Hotel World
2001	Anne Enright	What Are You Like?
2000*	John Burnside Claire Messud Matt Thorne Phil Whitaker	The Mercy Boys The Last Life Eight Minutes Idle Triangulation
1999	Christina Koning	Undiscovered Country
1998*	Alan Warner Timothy O’Grady	These Demented Lands I could Read the Sky
1997	David Flusfeder	Like Plastic
1996	A.L. Kennedy	So I Am Glad
1995	Dermot Healy	A Goat’s Song
1994	Amit Chaudhuri	Afternoon Raag
1993	Colm Tóibín	The Heather Blazing
1992	Iain Sinclair	Downriver
1991	Carey Harrison	Richard’s Feet
1990*	Paul Watkins Peter Benson	Calm at Sunset, Calm at Dawn A Lesser Dependency