On eve of Costa awards, experts warn that top books prizes are harming fiction

The dominance of three honours in the UK can be prohibitively expensive for small publishers, and end up discouraging risk-taking on ‘difficult’ authorsCutting-edge British literary fiction risks being undermined by its growing reliance on a handful of powerful book prizes, a leading literary agent has warned. But the associated costs of entering the biggest awards mean independent publishers willing to take risks on “difficult” works without obvious marketing potential are being shut out of contention.The warnings, from Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown, come as the Costa book of the year judges prepare to announce the shortlist for the £30,000 award. He said: “Literary fiction is under threat in this country due to a combination of factors – reluctance by major houses to take risks; a bottleneck in the distribution chain [and] diverse voices being ignored by a predominantly white, middle-class industry.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Spring 2025 Fiction & Nonfiction Preview: Literary Fiction

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A Love Song to the Philippines: The Revolutionary Power of Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters

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Our 15 Most-Read Posts Of All Time

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All the times Sally Rooney was saner than Book Media.

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Tim O'Connell Takes the Reigns at Saga Press

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A Real Contender for Best Book of the 21st Century

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Sebastian Barry: ‘When you get past 60, you do feel a licence to write fearlessly’

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The UK’s New Nero Book Awards Name Their First Category Winners

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