We're really pleased to announce our confirmed judges for the Publishers' Prize 2018. All our judges are excited to hear new voices from UCL and look forward to reading your submissions (due next Thursday!!).

Light and Dark:

Professor John Mullan, before moving the UCL in 1994, was a research fellow and lecture at the University of Cambridge. He has been Professor of English since 2005 and was appointed Lord Northcliffe Chair of Modern English Literature from 1st October 2016. Professor Mullan also writes on contemporary fiction for the Guardian and was a judge for the 2009 Man Booker Prize.

Bryony Woods, co-founder of DKW Literary Agency has experience working with publishers and authors both in the UK and further afield. Following an MA in Publishing at UCL she worked at the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency. She has achieved many awards in the Publishing industry including being one of the Booksellers Rising Stars of 2013, a winner of the London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2016 and receiving the Young Stationers’ Prize 2016.

Dark:

Alison Hennessey, editor at Raven Books, launched the new crime imprint at Bloomsbury in January 2017. Alison is a big fan of gripping and gothic stories and a perfect fit to judge our 'dark' submissions. She also works with organisations that encourage writing and creativity in all people such as WoMentoring Project, Arts Emergency and Camberwell Arts.

Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is the author Harmless Like You published by Hachette in 2016. She also writes in a variety of formats including non-fiction pieces for The Paris Review and the Guardian, and has essays published in Electric Literature, The Harvard Review and Guernica. She has also written a graphic memoir, comics and reviews.

Joseph Knobbs published Sirens, the first of his debut series of crime novels set in January 2017 under the pseudonym Joseph Knox. He is also a crime and classics buyer at Waterstones and was nominated for The Times Breakthrough Award in the Literature category in 2017.

Light:

Federico Andornino, previously an editor at the John Murray imprint Two Roads, joined the Orion imprint Wiedenfeld and Nicolson in September 2017. W&N specialise in literary fiction and non-fiction and won Imprint of the Year at the 2015 Bookseller Awards. Federico has a passion for crossover fiction and translations.

Eley Williams is a writer and lecturer based in London. She has published both short stories and a pamphlet of poetry. Attrib. and Other Stories was chosen as one of the best debut works of fiction in 2017 by Ali Smith (author of Autumn and Winter). Eley is also an editor at 3:AM magazine.

Philip Connor is a commissioning editor at Unbound, a publisher that has 'a community, platform and a publishing model that shift the balance of power to you, people and communities that champion undeserved ideas and voices'.

#judges #ProfessorJohnMullan #BryonyWoods #AlisonHennessey #RowanHisayoBuchanan #JosephKnox #FredericoAndornino #EleyWilliams #PhilConnor