Now in their 18th year, the awards are presented by the National Centre for Writing, in partnership with the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times and Norwich UNESCO City of Literature, with support from UEA’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

This year marks an exciting expansion, with eligibility widened to include books and writers from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The broader scope reflects East Anglia’s reputation as a region of "big skies and bold stories" – celebrating the voices, books and ideas born from East Anglia's rich literary and cultural landscape.

Peggy Hughes, CEO of the National Centre for Writing, said: "Big skies, bold stories — and, with the introduction of a new City of Literature Award and expanded eligibility criteria, an even broader celebration of East Anglian writers and publishers than ever before. We are proud and delighted to present this year’s shortlists, confident that the tapestry of words and ideas emerging from our region is richer than ever. My heartfelt congratulations to all those shortlisted; I can’t wait to read your work!"

East Anglian Book Awards 2025 shortlist

Fiction

• Sweat by Emma Healey (Hutchinson Heinemann)

• Poppyland by DJ Taylor (Salt)

• Florrie: A Football Love Story by Anna Trench (Jonathan Cape)

(Image: Emily Gray Photography)

Poetry

• To Make People Happy by John Osborne (Mariscat Press)

• Buying the Farm by Eliza O’Toole (Shearsman Books)

• Kiss My Earth by Alice Willitts (Blue Diode Press)

History and Tradition

• Finding the Wayfarer: Physical, Spiritual and Poetic Survival by Emma Rose Barber (Tandem Publishing Ltd)

• To the Eel Island: An Evening Journey by Charles Moseley (Merlin Unwin Books)

• Broadland: Shaping Marsh and Fen by Tom Williamson and Alison Yardy (University of Hertfordshire Press)

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