The London Magazine has announced the 2019 shortlist for the Collyer Bristow Prize for debut fiction. Now in its second year, the prize celebrates exceptional literary fiction, inviting publishers to submit one debut work of fiction published in the calendar year 2018.
The shortlist, which features outstanding, original writing published in the UK, is:
- The Chameleon by Samuel Fisher (Salt Publishing)
- The Earlie King & the Kid in Yellow by Danny Denton (Granta Books)
- Ok, Mr Field by Katharine Kilalea (Faber & Faber)
- Orchid & the Wasp by Caoilinn Hughes (Oneworld)
- The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (Hamish Hamilton)
The list includes Sophie Mackintosh, whose novel The Water Cure was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2018; Samuel Fisher, whose book The Chameleon is longlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2019; South African-born Katharine Kilalea, whose debut poetry collection One Eye’d Leigh was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Prize in 2009; as well as Irish writers Danny Denton, with his debut The Earlie King, and Caoilinn Hughes, whose poetry collection Gathering Evidence won the Irish Times Shine/Strong Award in 2015.
Chaired by Matthew Scott, co-editor of The London Magazine, the panel of judges comprises Suzi Feay (journalist and critic), Bidisha (broadcaster, journalist and author), and Houman Barekat (literary critic).
Matthew Scott says, “‘We would like to thank our sponsors, Collyer Bristow, for supporting this prize again and, in so doing, celebrating the extraordinary breadth of new fiction that is emerging in the UK at this moment. Our outstanding winner in the first year of the prize was David Keenan for This is Memorial Device and we again have a remarkable shortlist this year, which promises to live up to that extremely high standard of innovatively original writing.”
The prize-giving will be held under the auspices of The London Magazine on 3rd October at the Collyer Bristow Contemporary Art Gallery in London.
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For any questions regarding the prize, please email
jack.solloway@thelondonmagazine.org
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