Sophie Ratcliffe wins the 2026 E. M. Forster Award

Congratulations to Sophie Ratcliffe on winning the 2026 E. M. Forster Award. The $20,000 award recognises an outstanding writer from the United Kingdom or Ireland, and previous recipients include RCW clients Carol Ann Duffy, Kate Atkinson, and Lucy Caldwell.

Sophie Ratcliffe’s writing explores the intersections of literature, philosophy, history, creative criticism, and fiction. Her publications include The Lost Properties of Love (2019), and On Sympathy (2008). She is currently writing a novel, and completing an academic book on children and libraries, supported by a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship. Her edition of P. G. Wodehouse’s Letters was reissued by Penguin in 2025.

Alongside her academic work, Sophie is a regular reviewer for the national press.