Escaping To The Inspiring World Of Adventure Writing

On Thursday 17th September, the world of adventure writing came together at Foyles on Charing Cross Road for the 2026 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize Awards Reception and EFX were delighted to play our part in the celebrations by creating the trophies for this year’s winners.

Marking 10 years of discovering, championing and supporting adventure writing, this event was extra special. Guests joined both in person and online to celebrate an incredible decade and discover the winners of the £10,000 Adventure Writing Prize, New Voices Award and Author of Tomorrow Award. From established authors to the youngest Authors of Tomorrow, the evening was a wonderful reminder of the power of adventure writing to engage, inspire and transport readers.

The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize was awarded to Ruthvika Rao for The Fertile Earth.

The New Voices Award celebrated a fantastic selection of emerging writers, with five incredible winners:

• A Loving Gaze — Nicholas Gauthier
• The Grit of Cordelia Stratton — Joyanna Lovelock
• World Without End — Siân Marlow
• A Distant Glint of Silver — Holly May
• This Tender Soil — Nayela Wickramasuriya

And perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the evening was celebrating the Authors of Tomorrow – recognising young writers at the very beginning of their storytelling journeys. Winners & categories included:

11 and Under -Last Lantern on the Crouch — Hari Vasireddy

12–15 years -A Thousand Lamps — Aarna Jakkal

16–21 years -Come Back — Famya Faiz

The evening also featured an inspiring keynote from Captain Preet Chandi MBE, the record-breaking polar explorer and 2026 judge. Speaking about stepping outside of our comfort zones and challenging expectations, her words provided a fitting backdrop to an evening celebrating writers who are doing exactly that through their stories.

Inspired Awards

For an award celebrating such exceptional storytelling, the trophy needed to feel just as special, capturing the all-important pen nib where all ideas start  – pen to paper. We were incredibly proud to produce the main trophies in 24ct gold-plated solid aluminium, alongside crystal angled cylinders for The New Voices Awards & Rectangular crystal awards for Author of Tomorrow, creating distinctive pieces for the winners to take home and treasure.

And it was wonderful to hear just how much the awards were appreciated – “Thank you so much for the beautiful trophies. They looked incredible, and we were so proud to hand them out to our winners.” For us, that is what makes creating awards so rewarding – knowing that something we have made becomes part of a significant achievement & a lasting memory.

Congratulations to every winner, finalist and shortlisted author — and to everyone involved in another fantastic celebration of adventure writing. Here’s to the next ten years of extraordinary stories, extraordinary adventures and, hopefully, more trophies along the way!