Claudia Amuah wins Mo Siewcharran Prize hosted by Bookouture
Bookouture have announced Claudia Amuah’s The Other Woman as the winner of this year’s Mo Siewcharran Prize.
Bookouture have announced Claudia Amuah’s The Other Woman as the winner of this year’s Mo Siewcharran Prize.
Amuah wins a £2,500 cash prize as well as detailed editorial feedback and a follow-up online session. She will also be offered an introductory meeting with a literary agent and have her submission taken forward to Bookouture’s acquisitions meeting where it will be considered for publication under their no advance, 45% royalty model.
The awards ceremony was held at Hachette UK’s London office on 24th September 2026, where the first and second place runners-up were also announced as F. G. Liauw’s The Song Beneath the Snow and Amara Ede’s The Benefits of Marriage.
This year the prize was open to romance and psychological thriller writers and the shortlist was chosen by a judging panel that consisted of Ellen Gleeson, Publisher at Bookouture, Hennah Sandhu, former co-chair of Thrive (Hachette UK’s network for Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage employees and allies), Leodora Darlington, author of The Exes, Silé Edwards, Litery Agent and Jenn Li, bookish content creator @bookmarkonthewall.
Ellen Gleeson, Publisher at Bookouture, said,
‘The judges were totally hooked by the premise for The Other Woman: a woman sits outside a perfect family home, watching their every move through the window before leaving a red envelope inside the house that will shatter their lives. It’s a fantastic psychological thriller concept, in-line with the genre and what we know readers love, but Claudia’s voice – chilling and laced with suspense – made the extract truly stand out. We were completely addicted to reading Claudia’s work and wished we could carry on and discover the rest of the story.’
The prize, which runs part of Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf initiative and forms an important part of the publisher’s Changing the Story pillar, aims to nurture talent from writers from a Black, Asian, minority ethnic and/or mixed heritage backgrounds. It is named in memory of NielsenIQ BookData’s former Director of Marketing and Communications, Mo Siewcharran, and is now in its seventh year. The prize is sponsored by John Seaton, Siewcharran’s husband and co-founder of the prize, as well as NielsenIQ BookData. It was run by a committee at Bookouture including Jess Readett, Ellen Gleeson, Laura Deacon and Jess Whitlum-Cooper.
John Seaton said,
‘This year the Mo Siewcharran Prize had a record number of submissions. That makes the achievement of winning and being runners-up all the more impressive. My huge congratulations to the winner, Claudia Amuah, and the two runners-up, F.G. Liauw and Amara Ede. I also want to thank Bookouture, and most especially Jess Readett, for the flair and efficiency with which they have hosted the prize. The Mo Siewcharran Prize is nothing if not eclectic having already visited several genres. The journey will continue in 2027. Where? For now, I must leave you on tenterhooks!’
Jenny Geras, Managing Director of Bookouture, said,
‘It’s been a true privilege to host the Mo Siewcharran Prize this year and I’d like to say a huge congratulations to our winners and runners-up, as well as all of our shortlisted and longlisted writers. This year feels like a particularly celebratory one as it marks 10 years of Changing the Story, and our commitment at Hachette UK to ensuring inclusion across our staff, culture and publishing.’
