Simon & Schuster UK has named Abimbola Omisore the winner of New Chapter, its award for new writers, securing the Peckham-born British-Nigerian author a two-book publishing deal with a six-figure advance. Her debut novel is set to publish across all formats in 2028.

New Chapter drew more than 500 submissions across genres, which the judges narrowed to a longlist of eleven: Parveen B, Boakye D. Alpha, Angelika W, Tammie Meera Ash, Michelle Chellar, Khadijah Hassani, Hannah Mole, Victoria Bello, Davina Bhanabhai, Kiran Kaur Grewal, and Omisore. Every longlisted writer met with Simon & Schuster UK’s publishing team as well as literary agents Nancy Adimora and Gyamfia Osei of Andrew Nurnberg Associates, before the field was cut to a five-author shortlist: Parveen B, Chellar, Bello, Grewal, and Omisore. The judges’ decision in Omisore’s favor was unanimous; the four other shortlisted writers will each receive mentoring from Simon & Schuster UK’s fiction team.

Omisore writes commercial fiction built around diverse characters and love stories. “It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be a writer, to create stories with real characters, real emotions, and a love you can’t help but root for,” she said of the win, crediting the award with “highlighting that writing doesn’t just have to be a dream for people who look like me.”

Sabah Khan, Simon & Schuster UK’s Publicity Director and the force behind the award, said the volume and quality of submissions from writers of underrepresented backgrounds confirmed “a real desire for these stories to be published,” and that the longlist’s caliber made her proud to welcome Omisore to the Simon & Schuster family. Agent Nancy Adimora, who judged the prize, called Omisore’s novel “beautifully executed and deeply satisfying,” adding that she’d been ready to advocate hard for it before the rest of the panel reached the same conclusion without a fight.

More on the award is available on Simon & Schuster UK’s website.