Harriet Armstrong, Vijay Khurana and Gurnaik Johal among the 2026 Society of Authors' Award winners
Harriet Armstrong won the Betty Trask Prize and Vijay Khurana the McKitterick Prize at the 2026 Society of Authors' Awards.
The Society of Authors announced its 2026 award winners on 18 June 2026 at a ceremony at Southwark Cathedral. Winners and runners-up across nine awards shared a prize fund of more than £130,000.
Harriet Armstrong won the £10,000 Betty Trask Prize, for a first novel by a writer under 35, for To Rest Our Minds and Bodies, published by the independent press Les Fugitives in June 2025. The book had also been shortlisted for the 2026 Dylan Thomas Prize. The McKitterick Prize, for a first novel by a writer over 40, went to Vijay Khurana for The Passenger Seat.
Gurnaik Johal was among the recipients of the Somerset Maugham Awards. Other awards presented on the night included the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award for a short story, the Cholmondeley Awards and Eric Gregory Awards for poetry, the Queen's Knickers Award for an illustrated children's book, and the Travelling Scholarships.
Why it matters: Armstrong's win is another instance of a very small independent publisher's debut being recognised alongside books from the larger houses. The Society of Authors' awards include several that support work in progress and travel, as well as finished books, which makes them worth watching for writers at any stage.
Sources: Les Fugitives: To Rest Our Minds and Bodies; LoveReading: the Society of Authors 2026 award winners.