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Drumroll please! Over the last few weeks, we've had the very difficult task of whittling our fantastic longlist of 18 down to a shortlist of just 5. With such a stellar longlist, this was no mean feat - all the longlisted submissions were absolutely brilliant stories, full of all the originality, excellent writing and riveting plots that we're on the lookout for from the hundreds of submissions we receive. Such was the quality of this year's longlist, that we couldn't decide on just 5 - so without further ado, here's the shortlist of 6!

Adam's Amazing Apothecary by Wai Lan Mo

Dogs of Legacy by M.P. Sturrock

Keeper of the Crown by Mary Hopewell

King of the Mountains by Steve Lee

The Gallows Dance by Anna Day

The Secret Cooking Club for Girls by Laurel Remington

We've got an absolutely fantastic mix of genres and age ranges on the shortlist - respectively, a magical, hilarious tale of a junior Dr. Dolittle and his journey to overcome fear; a heart-wrenching canine adventure with a unique narrative voice; a high-concept fantasy set in a world ruled by reincarnation; an electrifying cycling story packed with adrenaline; a gripping reimagining of society's obsession with perfection, based around genetic modification; and a delicious cake-fuelled drama bursting with flavour.

Congratulations to all of our shortlisted authors!