How We Select Our Long-list

Many entrants wonder how manuscripts are judged, so we thought we'd explain exactly what we're looking for. Every entry is assessed against the same core criteria.

1. The Hook

The opening pages should make us want to keep reading on. A hook doesn't have to be an explosion, a murder or a dramatic twist. It can be an unforgettable voice, a fascinating situation, an intriguing mystery or a compelling character. It’s something that makes us ask ourselves questions as we read.

We ask our readers: Would you happily read on?

2. Originality

We love familiar genres, but we're also looking for stories that bring something fresh.

That might be:

-an original premise.

-an unusual setting.

-a distinctive protagonist with a strong voice (or voices) – and they don’t have to be likeable either.

-a profession or world we haven't explored before that we get chance to have a peek at.

-a fresh take on a classic idea or a retelling.

Originality doesn't mean being “Outlandish” for the sake of it. It means giving readers something they haven't quite seen before, whether that be an idea, a voice or a plot or just your voice and the way you tell compelling stories.

3. Commercial Appeal

The Cheshire Novel Prize celebrates books readers will genuinely want to buy, and we have always said that this prize has a commercial lens. We invest in six judges to ensure that all the genres are covered and this year our judges are looking for a wide range of genres. A commercial lens doesn’t mean it has to be a thriller or a sweeping love story, some of the best literary fiction is character led, and a wide range of genres has been listed in our prize including fantasy, historical fiction and crime/thriller. It’s the type of book you want to press into someone’s hands and say, ‘Read this so we can talk about it.”

We consider:

-Is there a clear audience?

-Would someone recommend this book to a friend?

-Could we imagine it on a bookshop shelf and if so where would it sit?

-Does it feel like a novel readers would talk about?

Commercial doesn't mean "formulaic". It means the story has the potential to find enthusiastic readers.

4. Voice

Voice is one of the hardest things to define, but one of the easiest things to recognise.

Strong voice makes your manuscript feel unique from the very first page. They make us sit up and take notice. It's the voice that makes us think:

"Only this author could have written this book." Or “This is a different voice.”

For example:

Literary/upmarket: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. An accessible epistolary novel told entirely through the letters of Sybil, a retired lawyer. Her intelligent, prickly and gradually revealing voice supplies both the structure and emotional momentum. It became 2025’s unexpected breakout hit and later won the 2026 Women’s Prize.

Commercial fiction: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall. A British rural love story combined with a murder mystery. Beth’s intimate, emotionally direct narration makes it highly readable, although the voice is less stylistically unusual than in The Correspondent. It sold more than a million copies and was named Amazon’s Best Book of 2025.

The Correspondent: distinctive because of character, sentence structure and epistolary form.

Broken Country: distinctive because of emotional immediacy and storytelling pace.

5. Emotional Engagement

Whatever the genre, readers HAVE to care. We're looking for manuscripts that make us laugh, worry, hope, fear, scream, sit back in shock, or simply become invested in what happens next. If we don't care about the characters, we won't care about the plot.

6. Pace and Momentum

Every novel has quiet moments, and they need them. But the story should always feel as though it's moving forwards.

We ask our readers:

-Do you want to keep reading?

-Does each chapter make you curious about the next one?

-Does the story maintain momentum?

-Is there cause and effect/profluence: this happens and then BECAUSE of this, this happens – not this happens and then this happens and then this happens.

So how do we decide?

Each manuscript is considered across all six areas, and we ask our readers to say yes to the following questions:

-Is there a distinctive hook/inciting incident in the excerpt

-Do you know what you were reading to find out/what the goal and stakes are

-Does it feel original

-Would you buy this if it was in a bookshop

-Does it have a strong voice or voices

-Were you emotionally engaged- did you FEEL something

-Does it have enough pace & momentum, whether that’s character led, or plot led.

Rather than awarding a numerical score for each category, we look at the manuscript as a whole and ask one final question:

Based on the above would you want to read on?

That's often the difference between a good manuscript and a longlisted one.

What makes an amazing manuscript?

The strongest entries usually excel across almost every category. They have an irresistible opening, a distinctive voice, memorable characters, a brilliant sense of place or atmosphere, emotional depth, page-turning momentum, cause and effect and genuine commercial potential.

They're the manuscripts that make the judges forget they're judging, and our readers forget they’re reading.

So what are our judges who are all literary agents asking themselves?

-Is this writing compelling?

-Could I persuade an editor—or more than one editor—to buy it?

-Would I recognise this writer’s voice again if I read something else they’d written?

-Does the voice have a natural flow, or is it visibly “written” and/or overworked?

-Does the opening create curiosity quickly?

-Can this voice sustain an entire novel?

-Is there tension beneath the sentences, even when little is happening?

-Does the voice give familiar material a fresh perspective?

-Does this suit the intended market?

-Can I immediately imagine readers who would love it?

-What recently successful books could I use as comparisons?

-Is it distinctive enough to stand out in a competitive market but accessible enough to sell?

-Do I want to turn the page, and would I still want to after fifty pages?

And finally...

Many entries score well in several categories. What separates the very best manuscripts is that they combine all of these qualities consistently and leave us wanting to read just one more chapter. They don’t have to be perfect and spelling mistakes or formatting mistakes are not a dealbreaker.

We just want good stories compellingly told. That's all we're looking for.

Good luck!

Warm regards,

Sara