Rebecca Perry has won the 2026 Waterstones debut fiction prize for her novel May We Feed the King, described by judges as a "delicious and dream-like tale". The award, voted on by Waterstones booksellers, recognizes the year's outstanding debut fiction across all genres.
Novel's plot and style
The novel follows a present-day museum curator whose job is to dress rooms in historic houses. The narrator explains: "When you see a replica feast scene in the great hall of an old building, I am the person who placed the pomegranates beside the pie." The curator becomes increasingly obsessed with a medieval king, whose own story about his reluctance to rule unfolds in parallel. Melissa Harrison, in her Guardian review, called it "a highly wrought puzzle-box of a book which deliberately wrongfoots the reader at every turn" and said it "richly rewards those who approach it with curiosity".
Prize and recognition
Perry receives £5,000 and a "promise of ongoing commitment" to her writing career. Waterstones head of books Bea Carvalho praised Perry's "crisp, cool prose" and said the novel is "a delicious and dream-like tale steeped in curiosity and nostalgia". Carvalho added: "With a poet's eye for detail and a keen sense of humour, Perry grapples with the slippery nature of memory and the burden of power. Rebecca Perry is an author to be seriously excited about and we can't wait to see what she does next."
Author background
Perry, from London, has published two poetry collections, Beauty/Beauty and Stone Fruit, along with several pamphlets and a work of creative nonfiction, On Trampolining. Her poetry has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize, and her debut collection won the Michael Murphy memorial prize. Writing May We Feed the King, Perry wanted to explore "historical fiction as a genre, and how we narrate history" as well as "the capacities of loneliness and imagination, and ultimately what happens when a person defies what is expected of them, refusing to step into the tyranny of power".
Other shortlisted novels
This year's other shortlisted novels were Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash, Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han, Under Water by Tara Menon, A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia, and The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski.
Prize history
Waterstones launched the prize in 2022. Previous winners include Tess Gunty's The Rabbit Hutch, Alice Winn's In Memoriam, and Ferdia Lennon's Glorious Exploits. Last year's winner was Lucy Steeds' The Artist.
