Authors' Club Best First Novel Award Shortlist 2017
The Authors’ Club is pleased to announce that the shortlist for the annual Best First Novel Award is as follows:GUINEVERE GLASFURD, The Words In My Hand (Two Roads)
The judges commented: It’s a lovely book, taking the genre of historical fiction to a new level and it rings true. There is a strong faithfulness to the known facts, coupled with a wonderfully sensitive imagination and a total lack of sentimentality.
ROWAN HISAYO BUCHANAN, Harmless Like You (Sceptre)
The judges commented: A vividly written story about a young Japanese woman who, comes of age in New York. An ambitious account of the search for identity and the need to belong in some way. The nuances of cultural differences are fascinating.
JESS KIDD, Himself (Canongate)
The judges commented: An original and unusual book set in a remote village in the west of Ireland. A terrific murder mystery, Jess Kidd is a fabulous writer, and I’m sure we’ll hear much more of her.
BARNEY NORRIS, Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain (Penguin)
The judges commented: It is a beautifully moving, thought-provoking creation… There is an underlying sense of sadness, loneliness, regret and uncertainty as the lives of five people become tenderly and unknowingly intertwined.
HARRY PARKER, Anatomy of a Soldier (Faber)
The judges commented: A gripping work, terse, perceptive and profound. The reality of life in a modern war zone is presented with astonishing detail and focus. An unforgettable and powerful read.
FRANCIS SPUFFORD, Golden Hill (Faber)
The judges commented: Spufford’s writing is of the highest literary order. The plot is intricate beyond the dreams of Machiavelli and the prose flows with unwavering assurance, arresting imagery and much vivid detail.
Lucy Popescu (chair of the judging panel) commented: “This year, we had a very strong longlist, producing a passionate debate, but we managed to whittle down the list to six books. I’m relieved we have Roma Tearne, this year’s guest adjudicator, to decide our overall winner.”
The prize is open to any debut novel written in English and published in the UK between 1 Jan and 31 Dec 2016 with one important exception: novels first published in another country of origin will not be considered. The prize of £2500 exists to support UK-based authors, publishers and agents, so the novel must originate in the UK and not have been published anywhere else in the world before its UK publication Inaugurated in 1954, the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award is now in its 64th year, making it the longest-running UK prize for debut fiction and – except for the James Tait Black and the Hawthornden – the oldest literary prize in Britain.
Past winners have included Brian Moore, Alan Sillitoe, Paul Bailey, Gilbert Adair, Nadeem Aslam, Diran Adebayo, Jackie Kay, Susan Fletcher, Nicola Monaghan, Laura Beatty, Anthony Quinn, Jonathan Kemp, Kevin Barry, Ros Barber and Carys Bray. Last year’s prize was awarded to Benjamin Johncock.
The winning novel is selected by guest adjudicator Roma Tearne from a shortlist drawn up by a panel of Authors’ Club members, chaired by Lucy Popescu.
Past adjudicators have included Vikram Seth, Philip Hensher, Joanne Harris, Deborah Moggach and, going back further, Kingsley Amis and Compton Mackenzie.
Key Dates
Shortlisted authors event at Waterstones Piccadilly: Thursday 25 May
The Winner will be announced by Roma Tearne, this year’s guest adjudicator at a dinner at the National Liberal Club: Thursday 8 June