The Odyssey Award
Named for the greatest journey in literature — a hero trying to get home against monsters, betrayal, and a world that refuses to cooperate. The Odyssey is the original thriller. Pursuit, deception, survival, homecoming. Every great thriller written since owes something to it.
The Odyssey Award is presented annually to the best thriller of the year.
This is the headline award of the Homer Awards. It is presented last of the thriller awards at the gala ceremony in Tolo.
Scoring criteria
· Narrative tension: Does it compel you to keep reading?
· Originality: Does it do something the genre hasn’t seen before?
· Character: Do you believe in the people on the page?
· Reader impact: Will you think about this book a month from now?
Eligibility
Publication
Must be published in English between
October 1, 2025 and October 1, 2026
Submission
Publisher submitted only.
Authors may not submit their own work for this award.
Publisher
Open to Big Five, independent, and small press publishers. No self-published titles in this category
How it works
Publishers submit directly through the Submit & Nominate page between October 1 and December 31, 2026. Submission fee applies at checkout.
Our team checks all submissions against eligibility rules. Hard rules, no exceptions. Books that fail eligibility are removed, and fees are refunded.
Thriller Book Retreat members vote on all eligible titles. The 10 titles with the most votes become the longlist. Publishers of longlisted titles are formally notified by Imagine Press.
Each juror reads the longlist of 10 and scores against four criteria. The panel meets once virtually. Results sealed immediately. Individual scores are never published.
The Odyssey Award is presented live at the Homer Awards gala ceremony, John & George Hotel, Tolo, Argolida, October 22, 2027.
Key dates
Submissions open October 1, 2026
Submissions close December 31, 2026
Longlist announced February 15, 2027
Shortlist announced
May 1, 2027
Gala ceremony October 22, 2027
A note for Greek publishers
The Homer Awards welcome submissions from Greek publishing houses. If your catalog includes English-language titles — or Greek works translated into English — published between October 1, 2025, and October 1, 2026, we encourage you to submit.
For questions in Greek, write to us at info@homerawards.com, and we will respond accordingly.
About Odyssey
The Odyssey is the story of a man trying to get home. That is all. And from that simple premise — a hero, a destination, and everything in the world determined to stop him from reaching it — Homer built the template for every suspense narrative written since.
Pursuit. Deception. Survival. Monsters that are not always what they appear to be. Allies who may be enemies. Enemies who may become allies. A protagonist who must be smarter than the world arrayed against him, and who must keep moving no matter what it costs.
Every great thriller owes something to it. Not metaphorically. Literally. The hero may be a detective, a spy, a woman on the run, or a soldier who knows too much. The monsters may be human. The gods may be governments. But the bones are the same. Get home. Stay alive. Trust no one completely. Keep moving.
The Odyssey Award is the headline award of the Homer Awards. It is presented last of the thriller awards at the gala. Because some things should be saved for the right moment.
The artwork
Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678)
Odysseus in the Cave of Polyphemus · c.1630–1635
Oil on canvas · Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow · Public domain
Odysseus facing the Cyclops — the moment where intelligence must defeat brute force. He cannot fight Polyphemus. He must outwit him. That is the thriller. Not the strongest wins. The smartest survives.
The Homer Awards use public-domain classical paintings from the Greek tradition to represent each award.