Theo Malings wins Faber’s Action! Prize for ‘electric’ SFF thriller

Theo Malings has won Faber’s Action! Prize for her YA sci-fi fantasy thriller The Red Twilight, hailed by the judges as “an electric read, closely synched to the gaming landscape” with a storyline that "held them by the throat". 

Malings takes home a worldwide publishing contract with Faber with a £12,000 advance (subject to contract). Second and third place went to Jonny Davison for The Knight Thief and Chris Watney’s Axel Ström vs the End of the World, respectively.

Davison has won a worldwide publishing contract with Faber with a £9,000 advance (subject to contract), and Watney the same rights terms with a £6,000 advance, also subject to contract. All books were signed by publisher Leah Thaxton, who was joined on the judging panel by film and TV producer Eddie Gamarra and author Kieran Larwood.

The prize was launched by Faber with Gamarra in 2024 "in direct response to research from the National Literacy Trust that revealed children’s reading enjoyment was at its lowest level in almost two decades". It called out for “cinematic, high-octane stories that would compete with the adrenaline rush of screens”. The criteria read: “The winning entries will be fast-paced and filmic, nail-biting, high-octane adventure, action-packed and full of heart, and may feature mortal danger and/or daft humour.”

The judges described The Knight Thief as a “superb, witty and fast-paced” fantasy for middle-grade readers, and Axel Ström vs the End of the World as “a fabulous story with energy and humour”.

Thaxton said: “We launched this prize in response to an urgent industry need for more stories that encourage reading for pleasure, and a desire to offer a wider range of books that reflect the kinetic storytelling that children enjoy onscreen and online. I am delighted that the Action! Prize has created a pipeline for a new wave of writing and predict more signings to follow."

Malings said: “I’m thrilled to be announced as the winner of the Faber Action! Prize. I’ve been struck by the number of boys and young men who may not be reading but do have a ferocious appetite for stories and find them in video games. In writing The Red Twilight, I’ve drawn on a lifetime of being introduced to the fantastical worlds I’ve played my way through, and from the many visual novels that are as memorable as my favourite books. I hope I’ve created something for the teens who don’t see the kind of stories they like in books being published. I hope that for them, The Red Twilight is a gateway to a whole new hobby.”