We have now completed the judging process for this prize.

Only 7 entries qualified to make the longlist. We have notified these writers but will not be posting the titles for reasons which I will explain below.

We normally have a longlist of 20 and a shortlist of 10. Unfortunately, the quality of submissions was simply not there this year to justify that approach. (AI checks revealed parts of 5 entries to be composed artificially!!)

The Plaza Prizes primary aim is to promote top quality writing. We’re sorry to have to report to that we won’t be passing the 7 longlisted works to the final judge. This decision has nothing to do with Michael J. Sullivan, or his wife, Robin.

This is very disappointing for us – a lot went into creating this unique contest. I know it will be disappointing for all entrants. It’s never nice to be told that your work is not as outstanding as it needs to be to win an international prize.

The Plaza Prizes reserve the right to not award prizes in circumstances like this. We also reserve the right not to pass the work onto the final judge.