Lucy Steeds has been awarded the 2025 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize for her novel, The Artist, which has garnered acclaim for its “atmospheric, sensory prose.”
Set in a 1920s Provencal artist’s household, the story revolves around aspiring English journalist Joseph Adelaide, the reclusive painter Edouard Tartuffe, and his ambitious niece Ettie, who harbors her own hidden artistic dreams.
As the winner, Steeds will receive £5,000 and a commitment to support her writing career. The Artist was selected from a shortlist of six notable works, including Confessions by Catherine Airey, Saraswati by Gurnaik Johal, Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin, Sunstruck by William Rayfet Hunter, and When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén.
The decision was made by a panel of booksellers, taking into account feedback from over 650 Waterstones staff members. Bea Carvalho, Head of Books at Waterstones, noted that Steeds’ novel “stood out for its evocative prose and rich sense of time and place. This is a beautifully immersive novel that appeals to a wide range of readers and introduces an exciting new voice in literature. We eagerly await Lucy Steeds’ next project.”
Originally from North London, Steeds found inspiration for her novel while residing in France, drawn to the concept of “art monsters.” She expressed a keen interest in exploring these tyrannical figures who create greatness at the expense of those around them. “I was more fascinated by the art never realized due to these figures’ oppressive nature,” she explained. “What could have been created if they hadn’t stifled others’ creativity?”
Waterstones has been celebrating debut fiction through this prize since its founding in 2022. Previous winners include Alice Winn and Ferdia Lennon, who won last year for Glorious Exploits—a work that later won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and The Authors’ Club 2025 Best First Novel Award.
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