Michelle Gallen grew up on the Northern Irish side of the Irish border and has written about the ‘Troubles’ in a humorous and highly entertaining way. Her first novel Big Girl, Small Town (2021) was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and her second novel Factory Girls (2022) was awarded the Comedy Women in Print Prize.

The lucky winners are: Moritz Luhnen, Lisa Pohlmann, Olivia Suda and Niels Weiland.