RSL Christopher Bland Prize

An annual award of £10,000 for a debut novelist or non-fiction writer first published in any form aged 50 or over.

The 2026 Prize

The 2026 prize is now closed for entry. The winner will be selected by judges A.L. Kennedy, Louise Kennedy and Derek Owusu. A shortlist and winner will be announced in 2026.

Please ensure you have read and understood the eligibility and guidelines prior to entering.

History

The Prize was launched in 2018 and first awarded in 2019, thanks to the generosity of the family and friends of Lady Jennie Bland, in memory of Sir Christopher Bland who died in 2017. Sir Christopher is best known for his leadership in broadcasting, the arts and business. He didn’t start writing until after his retirement publishing two novels to critical acclaim: Ashes in the Wind and Cathar. His play The Easter Rising and Thereafter was staged by the Jermyn Street Theatre in 2016 – 100 years to the day after the uprising in Dublin.

Past Winners

2025	Kathryn Faulke	Every Kind of People
2024	Chidi Ebere	Now I Am Here
2023	Paterson Joseph	The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho
2022	Julia Parry	The Shadowy Third
2021	Pete Paphides	Broken Greek
2020	Michele Kirsch	Clean
2019	Raynor Winn	The Salt Path

Become a Member

Our Members are champions of literature. Their support makes our engagement work in schools and prisons possible and they enable us to celebrate literature in all its wonderful diversity. As a thank you, we give them all the joys of a literary festival and book club rolled into one, all year round.