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Republic of Consciousness Prize rebrands as the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize
The Republic of Consciousness Prize is rebranding as the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize.
The Republic of Consciousness Foundation is partnering with Queen Mary University, London for the rebrand, after running for nine years. It focuses on small presses for the "creative and financial risk they take in commissioning bold and innovative literature".
The majority of the prize fund is awarded to the publisher, with each longlisted publisher receiving £500, and each shortlisted publisher receiving another £1,000, split 70/30 with the author/translator.
Dr Sam McBean, head of English at Queen Mary University of London, said: "The Department of English at Queen Mary is thrilled to partner with the Republic of Consciousness to support and celebrate the vital work of small presses across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
"With a longstanding commitment to more marginalised literature, our English and Creative Writing courses encourage intellectual curiosity, formal innovation, and risk-taking. The creation of the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize reflects our shared belief in the importance of literary innovation and the essential role independent publishers play in shaping contemporary fiction."
The judges for the 2026 prize are: Susanna Crossman, essayist, fiction writer and author of the memoir, Home Is Where We Start: Growing Up in the Fallout of the Utopian Dream; Stu Hennigan, writer, poet and author of Ghost Signs; and Marina Benjamin, author of a trilogy of memoirs, including A Little Give: The Unsung, Unseen, Undone Work of Women, as well as a tutor of creative non-fiction at Arvon, memoir writing for Granta and personal essay for the Faber Academy.
The prize was originally launched in 2017 with a £2000 donation from founder and director Neil Griffiths. It has since received funding from universities, the Arts Council, Foundation Jan Michalski and its monthly Book Club service, which delivers new titles from small presses to readers.
Over the past nine years, it has awarded more than £120,000 in prize money, and sold small-press books via the book club.
Griffiths said: "I didn’t believe the prize would last beyond its first year, the second year was a bonus, by the fifth year I thought: ‘Why the mad name?’ And now as we approach our 10th anniversary, I’m thrilled to rebrand as we begin our partnership with Queen Mary University of London, the perfect institution to host the prize and all its work for small presses."
