W. Somerset Maugham set up a fund in 1947 to enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience of foreign countries. The awards are given for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry.
To be eligible:
- The author must be a British national, or resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for three years prior to the date of submission for the award, and writing in English.
- The author must be under the age of 30 on the date of prize closure.
- The work submitted must be a full-length book and have been first published in Britain and Northern Ireland in the submission year. For the 2027 Somerset Maugham Awards, the work submitted must have been first published in Britain and Northern Ireland in 2026.
- The work submitted may be poetry, fiction, criticism, biography, history, philosophy, belles-lettres or a travel book. Dramatic works are not eligible.
- Submissions must be made by the print publisher.
- All submissions must have been written by the author and cannot contain AI generated content.
Publishers may enter a maximum of two submissions per imprint.