Stacey Halls – bestselling author of Mrs England – has won the Futures Award for most promising female author under the age of 35.
The prize, launched by The Women’s Prize for Fiction and Good Housekeeping to highlight the talent of the next exciting generation of female writers, was awarded following a hotly-contested public vote.
Stacey Halls said: “It’s such a huge privilege to win anything that is voted by readers, as readers are the reason we write in the first place, but to be awarded a prize of this prestige is a dream come true. I’ve long been a fan of the Women’s Prize and Good Housekeeping, and to be named as a writer of the future – particularly when I write about the past – is a real thrill. As brands they have huge respect and authority, and I can only hope some of their staying power rubs off on me.”
Halls topped a shortlist that included Jessica Andrews, Natasha Brown, Candice Carty-Williams, Eliza Clark, Abigail Dean, Naoise Dolan, Sarish Hussain, Daisy Johnson, and Chibundu Onuzo.
The all-star shortlist was chosen by an esteemed judging panel chaired by bestselling novelist Kate Moss, and comprising Good Housekeeping Editor-in-Chief, Gaby Huddart; Good Housekeeping Books Editor, Joanne Finney; TV and radio broadcaster, Naga Munchetty; and novelist, Sara Collins.
Since publishing her breakout debut, The Familiars in February 2019, Stacey Halls has established herself as one of the most exciting and successful writers of historical fiction of recent times. Bonnier Books UK has sold over half a million copies of her first two novels across all editions under its flagship literary fiction imprint Manilla Press, while her beguiling latest Mrs England was a Waterstones Best Book of 2021, Sunday Times bestseller, and long listed for both the Walter Scott Prize and the Portico Prize.
Halls will feature in Good Housekeeping‘s December 2022 edition.
