We are thrilled to announce that the winner of the Caledonia Novel Award 2025 is Magnella by Daniel Laing.
Many congratulations to Daniel, who wins £1,500 and this year’s specially-designed artwork by Edinburgh artist Lucy Roscoe.
As the author of the best novel from the UK and Ireland, Daniel also wins the free place on a writing course at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre.
Daniel has now signed with Ciara Finan at Curtis Brown.
Daniel works in finance and has spent the past few years writing a novel in the quiet early hours of the morning. When he writes, he feels transported elsewhere, to places old and new - his aim, with well crafted sentences, is to bring the reader along with him. He studied English and American Literature at the University of Keele, and continued on to an MA in Creative Writing. He writes fantasy and historical fiction, and his stories have been published in both Neon Magazine and The Write Launch. Daniel lives in the South West with his beautiful fiancée and cat, Squidney.
"Magnella began as a prologue to a longer fantasy novel set in a city inspired heavily by Renaissance Venice. Magnella herself was a side character, this sharp-tongued, ambitious Matriarch who had just turned fifty, and I found myself wanting to know more about her.
At the time, Magnella only occupied a single scene, but I found that moving her centre stage, and expanding, filled the project with life. Slouchy sentences snapped to attention, paragraphs hustled themselves together. She, Magnella, wanted to be heard.
As I wrote more, it became clear that the novel was about the interaction between the body and the marketplace. People, particularly women, often must trade more than just their time for capital. There is a horror in this statement, but there is also the great excitement of business, of deals done, of funds procured, of enterprise and ambition. Magnella tries to capture both these worlds, and their inevitable overlap."
Alice and Ciara: "It was a special moment to read the opening lines of Magnella – we were immediately transported to another time, another world. Every word choice felt deliberate and measured, creating such an intriguing and intricate world that we wanted to remain lost in it. The narrative voice also felt fully realised, and we felt we knew the characters intimately from the first chapter. Additionally, reading about a mother in a fantasy setting felt fresh, especially given current trends in the genre. Everything about the writing felt visceral in the best possible way – it was a truly special reading experience.
We are so delighted that Daniel has accepted Ciara's offer of representation!"
Ciara Finan: "Being a judge for the Caledonia Novel Award has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and I have been incredibly impressed by the standard of writing as well as the wide range of genres and themes explored in the material I’ve had the privilege of reading.
I believe that the fact this prize is open to any writer, from anywhere, is one of the most brilliant aspects of it. It attracts authors worldwide (this year there were 820 entries from 37 different countries), and from every background, and we sponsored 25 places this year for those on lesser means. Both Alice and I are so grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside prize founder Wendy Bough, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all our discussions and deliberations over the longlist, shortlist, and winner! It wasn’t an easy decision by any means – the quality of the writing was truly remarkable."
Elizabeth Rutherford-Johnson is half-Irish, half-Scottish and now lives in the wilds of West Sussex with her husband, two children and an assortment of chickens, cats and guinea pigs. She has previously written for theatre and has had short pieces produced at several London venues, including the Arcola, the Park, Theatre 503 and Jermyn Street Theatre. She studied English at the University of Oxford and works as a commercial editor for a business intelligence platform, a useful reminder that real life is often very interesting indeed.
"My father – who’d started his own software firm – travelled to the USSR and Eastern Europe as part of Perestroika efforts in the late 80s and early 90s. The idea was to have Western entrepreneurs teach Soviets more used to filling quotas and obeying party diktats how to run competitive and profitable businesses. I have no idea if his trips contributed anything to these efforts, but he did come back with stories about the minders who followed him everywhere; the restaurants where all the food was cold because the servers had to count the peas to make sure all the portions were equal; and the valuta bars, the hard currency bars, where for dollars or Deutschmarks you could buy the sorts of luxuries that most Soviet citizens could only imagine.
This is not the whole of this novel, but it was the original seed. Over time it was joined by other preoccupations: how guilt can be inherited along with eye colour; the people your parents were before they became your parents – and all the things they never told you; and what you might give up for those you love, even when they don’t love you back. My husband’s PhD on the Polish composers Penderecki and Górecki sparked a fascination with communist-era Poland and how the country maintained its identity. And I’ve always been drawn to spy stories; perhaps because they’re also preoccupied with the abiding mystery of why anybody does anything. Marry that to a gothic imagination and a Catholic upbringing, and a story about the Devil dealing in lost souls against the backdrop of the Cold War almost told itself.
Almost."
Alice and Ciara: "The Valuta Bar is an absolute feat of writing. Set in the 1980s in Communist Poland and in the present day, it explores a part of history we don't know enough about (and now we want to know more!). Two women meet in a fantastical bar. Anna is desperate to fulfil her father's dying wish to track down his long-lost daughter, whom he abandoned in Poland in the 80s. Lucia is the beautiful Devil, and she amasses people's souls by having them trade memories and love and precious parts of themselves for favours. Set in a dark, beautiful world of time-shifting doorways, can Anna outwit Lucia, who is not above playing games with her?"
Elizabeth has now signed with Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown.
Read the start of The Valuta Bar here.
Masha Voyles was born in New York, raised in Paris, and educated in the UK. She studied English Literature at University College London before going on to do a master’s at Oxford. After graduating, she spent several years in London as a copywriter in the beauty and fashion industries. She now lives in Edinburgh with her husband. She is particularly inspired by authors who blend literary craft with cultural insight, particularly Ira Levin, Margaret Atwood, and Mona Awad.
"I was working as a copywriter for a big beauty brand when I started writing Glow Up. I was fully embedded in the marketing of beauty as well-being and thinking about my own complicated relationship to self-improvement. I started reading a lot of Ira Levin. Something about his way of using horror to expose social anxieties really clicked with what I was seeing in corporate wellness culture. I started working on a novel that was my answer to The Stepford Wives but updated for the generation of the ten-step skincare routine.
Glow Up follows Joanna, a copywriter at a global beauty company called Shimmer. She's completely bought into the company's promise of transformation – if she just works hard enough, and follows all the rules, she can become like her perfect mentor Eva or the company’s glamorous founder, Gwendolyn Tinsley. But as she gets closer to a big promotion, she starts noticing that something’s not quite right. Shimmer’s obsession with transformation might be more literal than she first thought, and more than she bargained for. The story definitely gets weird – there’s an ancient butterfly cult involved – but at its heart, it’s about asking when self-improvement crosses the line into self-erasure."
Alice and Ciara: "Glow-Up is a lively and energetic read that shines a light on current trends, while also providing a sharp commentary on beauty in a society that’s often obsessed with superficial appearances. The novel gives the reader a fresh and dynamic young voice that adds an exciting layer to the narrative. With a pace that keeps the story moving, social commentary is skilfully woven through, giving the narrative an undercurrent of terrific tension! We felt that what sets this novel apart is how it captures the essence of what we often see on social media – its fleeting nature, its impact on self-image, and the pressures it creates – offering a cinematic and atmospheric reading experience that feels sharp, witty, and timely."
Read the start of Glow Up here.
Michelle is a Puerto Rico-based author of atmospheric horror and fantasy for young adult readers. She likes her novels twisty, and her coffee iced. She believes every dark story needs light, and she’ll always include a romantic subplot and a HEA. As a busy wife and homeschooling mom to four children, Michelle didn’t even consider becoming an author until 2019 when her sister gave her a red notebook and colorful gel pens and encouraged her to write a story. House of Hunger is her fifth completed novel. It won best of YA in the 2023 Book Pipeline Unpublished Manuscript contest, YA runner up in the 2024 Write Mentor Novel Award, and was a finalist in both the 2024 Authored Wicked Whispers Competition and the 2024 Jericho Writer’s First 500.
“I wrote House of Hunger to introduce readers to the lush beauty of Puerto Rico while exploring the juxtaposition of a dark story set in a bright and unexpected location. I found inspiration for my hearts-under-the-floorboard theme from The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House shaped the eeriness of Casa del Demonio. However, it was my own experience of living through the pandemic from an isolated tropical island that truly brought this story to life for me. I believe loneliness and fear are easily relatable emotions, and the perfect recipe for a compelling horror novel. My readers don’t need to be trapped in their grandfather’s isolated cliff house with a box of bloodthirsty hearts to relate to Cora’s emotional journey as she explores themes of self-discovery, finding and embracing her unique identity, and the power of love and sacrifice.”
Alice and Ciara: "House of Hunger is a masterfully-crafted YA novel that immediately captures the reader's attention from the very first lines. The first-person narrative drew us completely in, and it pulls its reader into a world teeming with gothic intrigue and an atmosphere that is both haunting and beautifully immersive. Set in 1876, at a decaying mansion perched on the edge of a cliff in Puerto Rico, the novel expertly conjures a sense of eerie, otherworldly suspense. As the boundaries between reality and the supernatural begin to dissolve, the plot unfolds with exceptional tension, unravelling a pulse-pounding tale of love, obsession, and magic. The intricate structure of the story ensures that every twist and turn keeps the reader on the edge of their seat."
Michelle has now signed with Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency.
Read the start of House of Hunger here.
Jasmine has just moved home to London after a year living, writing and travelling in Kenya. She is a trained teacher, having worked in both primary and secondary schools, and before that she studied philosophy at the University of Cambridge. She has an MA in children’s literature and creative writing from Goldsmiths, and her stories for children have been published in Mslexia magazine and listed for the Bath Children’s Novel Award. Skin of Silk is her first (hopefully first of many!) novel for adults.
"I have always loved fairy tales and mythology, and Skin of Silk draws on classic stories like Pygmalion and Coppélia, in which a man’s beautiful model comes to life. I am interested in these stories of men who try to create their ideal woman, and in how such a woman can carve out her own identity despite her origins as somebody else’s creation. Although this underlying theme has a darkness to it, my goal is for Skin of Silk to offer joyful escapism to readers.
I love books with atmospheric settings that almost become characters in their own right, and I enjoyed creating my decadent 1920s cabaret club and filling it with characters that feel like friends. It has also been a pleasure to write about sewing. I’ve been teaching myself to sew over the last few years, and it’s fun to imagine the things I might be able to create if I possessed even a fraction of the talent and skill my characters have!"
Alice and Ciara: "Skin of Silk is a captivating dark historical fantasy that delves into themes of love, human connection, and the transformation of inner darkness through a potent blend of intrigue and magic. Set against the dazzling, nostalgic backdrop of a cabaret club during a glamorous era, the novel weaves an epic tale that will thrill readers with its mix of deception, desire, and complex emotional depth. We found that the allure of this world is undeniable, drawing you into a narrative where nothing is quite as it seems, and every twist keeps you craving more!"
Jasmine has now signed with Hellie Ogden at WME.
Read the start of Skin of Silk here.
Born in South Africa, Bronwyn Kato grew up in Cape Town and spent three years living in Mthatha in the late eighties. After studying Psychology through the University of South Africa she worked in publishing before moving to Sendai, Japan, in 2013 to teach English on the JET Programme. She now lives in Tokyo with her husband and works as a freelance writer, editor and book coach. When not reading or writing, she enjoys drawing, visiting art galleries, researching subjects for her books and exploring the city.
In 2024, Bronwyn was shortlisted for the Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award. She is currently writing her third novel, also set between South Africa and Japan.
“The Summer We Were Witches began as a short story inspired by the artist Matsui Fuyuko, whose haunting depictions of disfigured women explore themes of identity, loss, trauma and motherhood. I was particularly interested in Matsui’s idea that art can act as a talisman, like the ghost paintings used in the Edo period to scare off burglars. After finishing my story, its main character, Inge, a South African artist living in Japan, stayed with me. I wanted to know more about her and the things she couldn’t express outside of her art. When I read Elena Ferrante’s essay on the ‘necessary other’ I realised I would only fully understand Inge through the person closest to her, her best friend Rose. This got me thinking about the way our identities are shaped by friends – how we see ourselves as we think they see us, and continue to be defined by certain friendships throughout our lives, regardless of distance, separation or loss.
Another inspiration, in hindsight, was that a few months before I started this novel, I threw out the diaries I’d kept as a teenager in the nineties – something I’ve regretted since. So the book became a way to preserve what I could still remember from that time, especially the more magical parts. Writing it was a nostalgic experience as I listened to Dead Can Dance, Massive Attack and Björk, watched movies like My Own Private Idaho and reread Lost Souls, Inge and Rose’s favourite book, by gothic horror writer Poppy Z. Brite. It was also an opportunity, through a cast of characters with varying social backgrounds, to explore aspects of the past and the places I’ve lived from different perspectives. In essence, though, this is the story of Inge and Rose and their friendship, and I especially enjoyed writing the sections narrated in the first-person plural.”
Alice and Ciara: "The Summer We Were Witches offers an intriguing setting that immerses the reader in a vibrant and deeply evocative portrayal of a past South Africa. The atmosphere of the story is rich and vivid, drawing you into a world that feels both mysterious and familiar. This novel delves into the complex themes of female friendship, exploring the nuances and depth of relationships between women. We found the character arcs are thoughtfully developed, and the portrayals are so convincing that they make the bonds between the characters feel authentic and impactful. The exploration of friendship is not only central to the plot but also serves as a powerful vehicle for character growth and emotional resonance. A truly unique story!"
Read the start of The Summer We Were Witches here.
Ashland by Joe Eurell
Between Us Three and the Sea by A J Davage
Doves Rise by Fiona Clarke
Every Bright Thing by Daniel Sheen
Flood Damage by Chris Marshall
Glow Up by Masha Voyles
Heir to the Killers' Kingdom by Anna Fitz
Her Remorseless Gaze by Sarah Hitchcock
House of Hunger by Michelle Sanchez Now signed with Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency
Magnella by Daniel Laing Now signed with Ciara Finan at Curtis Brown
My Only Sunshine by Gráinne Faller
Skinned Knees by Jessica Holmes
Skin of Silk by Jasmine Brady Now signed with Hellie Ogden at WME
The Food Truck by Sharon Tandy
The King's Wife by Lauren Neely Now signed with Maggie Sadler at Howland Literary
The Loch House by Kathryn Cooper
The Summer We Were Witches by Bronwyn Kato
The Valuta Bar by Elizabeth Rutherford-Johnson Now signed with Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown
The Voices In Our Heads by Louise Floyd
caledoniaaward@gmail.com