The Sunday Times / University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year award is a literary prize awarded to a British author under the age of 35 for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. It is administered by the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

and has been running since 1991.

History

The ''Sunday Times'' Young Writer of the Year Award is said here to have originally run between 1991 and 2009, but there is evidence to confirm that it began twenty years earlier. At that time entries confined to short stories and were published in the newspaper itself. The 1974 winner was Charles Nicholl, who went on to become well-known for historical biographies. "The Ups and The Downs" was Charles Nicholl's disturbing and humorous account of a bad LSD trip in London. It was re-invigorated with the support of literary agents Peters Fraser + Dunlop in 2015 under the new name ''Sunday Times'' / Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award. In 2019 the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

took over as co-sponsor. The award was renamed as ''The Sunday Times'' / University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year Award. In 1999,

Paul Farley Paul Farley, FRSL (born 1965) is a British poet, writer and broadcaster. Life and work Farley was born in Liverpool. He studied painting at the Chelsea School of Art, and has lived in London, Brighton and Cumbria. His first collection of poe ...

's ''The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You'' "was so well received", according to the ''Encyclopedia of British Writers'', that "it was named ''Sunday Times'' Young Writer of the Year Award".

Winners

*Cal Flyn, ''Islands of Abandonment'' (2021) *

Jay Bernard Jay Bernard may refer to: *Jay Bernard (writer) Jay Bernard (born 1988), FRSL, is a British writer, artist, film programmer, and activist from London, UK. Bernard has been a programmer at BFI Flare since 2014, co-editor of ''Oxford Poetry'', an ...

, ''Surge'' (2020) *

Raymond Antrobus Raymond Antrobus is a British poet, educator and writer, who has been performing poetry since 2007. In March 2019 he won the Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry.Sally Rooney Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published three novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), ''Normal People'' (2018), and ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021). ''Normal People'' was adapt ...

, ''

Conversations with Friends ''Conversations with Friends'' is the 2017 debut novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney, about two young women who become involved with an older couple in Dublin's literary scene. The novel was published by Faber and Faber and received critical ...

'' (2017) *Max Porter, ''Grief Is The Thing With Feathers'' (2016) *

Sarah Howe Sarah Howe (born 1983) is a Chinese–British poet, editor and researcher in English literature. Her first full poetry collection, '' Loop of Jade'', won the T. S. Eliot Prize and the ''Sunday Times'' / Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writer of ...

, '' Loop of Jade'' (2015) *

Ross Raisin Ross Raisin FRSL (born 1979) is a British novelist."Ross Raisin"
Royal Society of Literature.

< ...

, ''God's Own Country'' (2009) *

Adam Foulds Adam Samuel James Foulds FRSL ( ; born 8 October 1974) is a British novelist and poet. Biography Foulds was educated at Bancroft's School, read English at St Catherine's College, Oxford under Craig Raine, and graduated with an MA in creative ...

, ''The Truth about these Strange Times'' (2008) *

Naomi Alderman Naomi Alderman (born 1974) is an English novelist and game writer. She is best known for her speculative science fiction novel '' The Power'', which won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2017. Biography Alderman was born in London, the daught ...

, ''Disobedience'' (2007) * Robert Macfarlane, '' Mountains of the Mind'' (2004) * William Fiennes, ''The Snow Geese'' (2003) *

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith FRSL (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She has been a tenured professor ...

, ''

White Teeth ''White Teeth'' is a 2000 novel by the British author Zadie Smith. It focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends—the Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and the Englishman Archie Jones—and their families in London. The novel centres on Britain' ...

'' (2001) *

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as ''Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sara ...

, ''

Affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...

'' (2000) *

, ''The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You'' (1999) *

Patrick French Patrick French (born 1966) is a British writer, historian and academician. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh where he studied English and American literature, and received a PhD in South Asian Studies. He was appointed as the inau ...

, ''Liberty or Death'' (1998) *

Francis Spufford Francis Spufford FRSL (born 1964) is an English author and teacher of writing whose career has seen him shift gradually from non-fiction to fiction. His first novel ''Golden Hill'' received critical acclaim and numerous prizes including the Costa ...

, ''I May Be Some Time'' (1997) *

Katherine Pierpoint Katherine Pierpoint (born 1961) is an English poet. She is best known for her book ''Truffle Beds'' which won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. Life and career Pierpoint was born in Northampton in 1961. ...

, ''Truffle Beds'' (1996) *

Andrew Cowan Andrew Cowan (13 December 1936 – 15 October 2019) was a Scottish rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005. Early years Cowan was raised in Duns, a small town in the ...

, ''

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

'' (1995) *

William Dalrymple William Dalrymple may refer to: * William Dalrymple (1678–1744), Scottish Member of Parliament * William Dalrymple (moderator) (1723–1814), Scottish minister and religious writer * William Dalrymple (British Army officer) (1736–1807), Scott ...

, ''

City of Djinns ''City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi'' (1993) is a travelogue (literature), travelogue by William Dalrymple (historian), William Dalrymple about the historical capital of India, Delhi. It is his second book, and culminated as a result of his six-ye ...

'' (1994) *

Simon Armitage Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds. He has published over 20 collections of poetr ...

, ''Xanadu'' and ''

Kid Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, lea ...

'' (1993) *

Caryl Phillips Caryl Phillips (born 13 March 1958) is a Kittitian-British novelist, playwright and essayist. Best known for his novels (for which he has won multiple awards), Phillips is often described as a Black Atlantic writer, since much of his fictional ...

, ''Cambridge'' (1992) * Helen Simpson, ''Four Bare Legs in a Bed'' (1991) No award was made in 2002, 2005 or 2006.The Society of Authors: The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year (past winners)
/ref>

References

{{reflist Society of Authors awards Literary awards honouring young writers Awards established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom Young Writer of the Year Literary awards by magazines and newspapers