And the Future Worlds Prize 2025 winner is...
Meet the winner and runner-up of Future Worlds Prize 2025.
We’ve just awarded Future Worlds Prize for the fifth time, and this year’s winner is Harmony Knight for Earth S.O.S., while the runner-up was Amber Houlders for Blood in the Water.
Read on to find out more about them and their work, and about our event at Bradford Literature Festival this summer.
Meet Harmony Knight
Throughout a youth lived between the concrete jungles of South London and a small town in rural Essex, Harmony Knight found freedom of expression in writing. After graduating with a 1st Class Honours, she has sought to travel the world, discovering the joy of existence by opening her heart to the beautiful myriad of human culture, which is reflected deeply in her writing. Harmony has published several articles with outlets such as Gifted, By Nature and Black Ballad, with said work reaching acclaim in Black Ballad Best of 2021, and she has also worked in film, television, music, editing, journalism, and photography.
Harmony’s winning entry, Earth S.O.S., is set on a future Earth, which has been ravaged following a super quantum arms race. Hidden beneath The Colossus, New London is one of the last outposts of Old Earth and home to a quagmire of renegades; Hiro, a disgraced Martian Prince, Abyss, a junkie without a cause, John, Earth’s golden boy, and Alber, an elite killing machine.
Our judging panel said: “Earth S.O.S. is authored by someone who really knows how to write, and the author confidently crafts the voice of a group of unforgettable characters who we want to spend more time with.”
You can read an extract from Earth S.O.S. here.
Meet Amber Houlders
Amber Houlders is a narrative designer in the games industry, and has also written for theatre, film and graphic novels. She recently completed Curtis Brown’s Fantasy Writers Breakthrough course and enjoys writing women-focused fantasy stories (the more sapphic the better), set in second worlds that are aligned with and explore her family's heritage. She is currently querying Blood in the Water, an adult, character driven, gothic fantasy. It includes POC representation, a dash of body horror, and terrible sapphic women. Influenced by West African and Caribbean mythology and culture, the novel explores generational trauma, the desire for freedom, and the politics of colonialism in a break-neck chase across the desert.
Blood in the Water follows Ifunanya, who is on the brink of her overdue retirement when her quartermaster asks her for one last favour: to find a missing scavenger ship and its crew. Upon finding the ship stranded in the middle of the desert and occupied by Wata Mmụọ, sirené who haven’t been seen in hundreds of years, Ifunanya and her crew are attacked by Caliban, the empire’s newest Commodore.
Our judging panel said: “Blood in the Water is an original story, with a great voice, excellent pacing, and interesting concepts. This read like a classically epic yet unique fantasy, and we admired the author’s approach to themes of empire.”
You can read an extract from Blood in the Water here.
Join Future Worlds Prize at Bradford Literature Festival
We’ll be heading to Bradford Literature Festival in July, where Future Worlds Prize finalists M. H. Ayinde and Marve Anson will delve into the craft of worldbuilding – from creating magic systems and futuristic technology to developing languages and rich cultural traditions.
The conversation, which takes place on Sunday 6th July, will explore how authors shape vivid fictional worlds that captivate readers and reflect real-world complexities.
M. H. Ayinde, winner of the 2021 Future Worlds Prize, is the Sunday Times-bestselling author of A Song of Legends Lost.
Marve Anson, a 2023 Future Worlds Prize finalist, will publish her debut fantasy novel, Firstborn of the Sun, in October 2025.
Together, they’ll share tips, insights, and behind-the-scenes stories of crafting immersive worlds and unforgettable adventures.
Book your tickets here.