Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Shortlist 2023

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize returns for its second year and our booksellers have once again identified the most exciting new writing talent out there. We spoke with all six authors about how it feels to hand over that all-important manuscript for others to pass judgement on, discover how much autobiography feeds into their work, the kind of research it takes to create fiction, and that trickiest of questions: where does the inspiration and compulsion to write come from?

Find all the books here.