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Shortlisted for the 2026 Ruth Rendell Award

Posted on February 14, 2026

The Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) and the National Literacy Trust have announced the shortlist for the 2026 Ruth Rendell Award, which recognises the writer or author who has had the most significant influence on literacy in the UK over the past year.

The award was launched in 2016 by ALCS and the National Literacy Trustin honour of the best-selling crime author and literacy advocate Ruth Rendell, who passed away in 2015. Previous winners include Andy McNab, Cressida Cowell, and Chris Smith and Greg James. Tom Percival is the current holder.

I am hugely honoured to be shortlisted alongside the brilliant Rob Biddulph, Maisie Chan, Maz Evans, Nicola Gerrard, Laura Henry-Allain MBE, Nathanael Lessore and MC Grammar.

The winner of the 2026 Ruth Rendell Award will be announced at a reception in London on 26 February 2026.