Awards & Prizes
Through awards and prizes, the RSL invests in authors both established and emerging, at difficult stages of their careers.
For support available from other organisations please see our page on where writers can find support.
For a simple guide to publishing see this booklet from Hachette.
Companions of Literature
The highest honour that the Society can bestow upon a writer.
RSL Christopher Bland Prize
The £10,000 Christopher Bland Prize is awarded annually to a debut novelist or popular non-fiction writer, first published at the age of 50 or over.
RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction
Annual awards for authors engaged on their first commissioned works of non-fiction.
RSL International Writers
Awards for writers not resident in, or citizens of, the UK
RSL Literature Matters Awards
RSL Ondaatje Prize
An annual award of £10,000 for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place.
Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards
Awards providing mentoring for emerging writers of colour.
The Benson Medal
Awarded to those who have offered sustained and outstanding service to literature.
The Encore Award
For the best second novel of the year.
V. S. Pritchett Short Story Prize
The RSL’s annual prize of £1,000, for the best unpublished short story of the year.
