Claudia Amuah won the 2026 Mo Siewcharran Prize for The Other Woman. This year the award, run as part of Hachette UK's Future Bookshelf initiative, is being hosted by Bookouture and focuses on romance and psychological thriller submissions. Named in memory of NielsenIQ BookData's former director of marketing and communications, the prize is sponsored by John Seaton, Siewcharran's husband and co-founder of the prize, as well as NielsenIQ BookData.
Ellen Gleeson, one of the judges and a 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."
Amuah receives £2,500 (about $3,315) 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 first and second runners-up were F. G. Liauw's The Song Beneath the Snow and Amara Ede's The Benefits of Marriage. Liauw receives £1,500 (about $1,990) and Ede £750 (about $995), with both also getting editorial feedback and a hamper of Bookouture books.