Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Midnight Adams

What does it take to write your first novel? Words of advice from the hottest debut authors

The books shortlisted for Waterstones’ 2026 Debut Fiction Prize - (Waterstones)

The bath is perhaps the last place you’d expect to find an author toiling away on their first novel, but that’s exactly where writer Rebecca Perry wrote her debut fiction May We Feed the King.

“I would write in the bath after work,” she recalled this week, at a Waterstones event celebrating the book shop’s 2026 Debut Fiction Prize. “I had a wooden tray that constricted me, it’s quite uncomfortable physically!”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.