First presented in 1990, the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) has been administering the award since 2016. It is one of 10 annual awards and prizes presented by the RSL.

This year’s judges are Maura Dooley, Daljit Nagra and Nikesh Shukla and they described Factory Girls as a "hilarious and touching coming-of-age-summer story".

Michelle says it was a “huge honour” and “a validation of my publishers’ commitment to finding and amplifying previously marginalised voices”.

Previous recipients of the award have included Sally Rooney, Ali Smith, Sunjeev Sahota, Neil Mukherjee, A L Kennedy, Colm Tóibín, Caoilinn Hughes and last year’s winner Francis Spufford.

The five shortlisted novels for this yeae are: Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews (Hodder); Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen (John Murray); Emergency by Daisy Hildyard (Fitzcarraldo Editions); Complicit by Winnie M Li (Orion Books); and Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu (Little Brown).

The 2023 Encore Award winner will be announced on Thursday 15th June.