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 ]
News tagged with: #curtis brown #costa book #literary fiction #major houses #diverse voices #predominantly white

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Here’s the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction.

Last but certainly not least: it’s the time for fiction! The National Book Foundation has announced the ten books contending for this year’s National Book Award for Fiction. The award, created in 1950, is the most prestigious literary prize in the United States, rewarding bold and cogent... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-18 14:15:26 UTC ]
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Colson Whitehead Awarded 2020 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

The annual Prize for American Fiction, one of the LoC's most prestigious awards, honors an American literary writer "whose body of work is distinguished not only for its mastery of the art but also for its originality of thought and imagination." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Evaristo and Carty-Williams become first black authors to win top British Book awards

Candice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo take book of the year and author of the year categories, as publishers face criticism for treatment of black authorsCandice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first black authors to win the top prizes at the British Book awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-29 17:45:42 UTC ]
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The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens Submissions for 2021 Prize Cycle

Now in its 15th year of prizes, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award leadership is looking to surpass last year's  record level of submissions. The post The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens Submissions for 2021 Prize Cycle appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-01 13:35:48 UTC ]
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Amanda Johnson named new director of Costa Book Awards

Costa Coffee has appointed Amanda Johnson as the new director of the Costa Book Awards, succeeding Bud McLintock, who stepped down from the role after 25 years in February.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-31 13:23:03 UTC ]
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How language can destroy or rebuild, per Times Book Prize fiction winner Ben Lerner

The author of "The Topeka School," winner of the 2019 Times Book Prize for fiction, speaks on poetry, debate, citizenship and crisis homeschooling. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-17 15:30:20 UTC ]
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Here are the winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, one of the Arab world’s major literary prizes.

The Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, among the most esteemed and lucrative literary prizes in the Arab world, recognized winners across seven categories today. This year marks the 14th edition of the awards, each of which comes with a cash prize of $204,000. These awards acknowledge literary and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-08 15:14:35 UTC ]
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Women's Prize for Fiction awards ceremony postponed to September

The Women's Prize for Fiction award ceremony has been postponed until September because of the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 08:46:16 UTC ]
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Paul Theroux wins top prize at Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards

Paul Theroux has received this year’s top prize at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, winning the Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-26 00:09:23 UTC ]
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Collins and Coe triumph at Costa Book Awards 2019

Sara Collins has won the Costa First Novel Award for her gothic romance, The Confessions of Frannie Langton (Viking), in a stellar year for début authors after three out of the five award categories were won by first-time writers.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 21:35:49 UTC ]
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Costa Book Awards Names Its 2019 Category Winners

With a total purse of £60,000 (US$79,000), the Costa Book Awards' first winners are in the five categories. One of this group will be named the overall winner on January 28. The post Costa Book Awards Names Its 2019 Category Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-01-06 19:30:25 UTC ]
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Blackman and Carty Williams compete on Costa Book Award shortlists

Candice Carty-Williams, Malorie Blackman and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan are among the 20 authors shortlisted for this year’s Costa Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-26 21:14:59 UTC ]
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Who Will Win the National Book Award for Fiction, According to My Dad

These are some important things to know about my dad: every Halloween he dresses up in a different inflatable costume to hand out candy, he’s seen Bigfoot, he watches John Wick about once a month, he wanted to name me Elvis, and when I was younger he read all my favorite books along with me.... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Entries open for the British Book Award for Export as prize returns for second year

The British Book Award for Export is open for entries as it returns for a second year, recognising publishers that excel in export sales.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-14 02:02:29 UTC ]
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Bookseller judges announced for Costa Book Awards

Booksellers from WH Smith, Waterstones, Sam Read Books, Libreria and West End Lane Books are to join judging panels for The Costa Book Awards 2019. The booksellers will select shortlists and decide the winners across five categories, in a year which sees the highest number of submissions to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-17 00:41:12 UTC ]
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Laila Lalami, Colson Whitehead among National Book Award fiction nominees

10 novelists make the National Book Awards fiction longlist: Laila Lalami, Colson Whitehead, Ocean Vuong, Julia Phillips and more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-09-20 18:20:50 UTC ]
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Here is the 2019 Longlist for the National Book Award for Fiction.

It’s here: the final day of the National Book Foundations’ longlist announcements. Yep, it’s time for the fiction list, as chosen by judges Dorothy Allison, Ruth Dickey, Javier Ramirez, Danzy Senna (Chair), and Jeff VanderMeer from a pool of 397 submitted books. It includes two debut short story... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-20 14:32:33 UTC ]
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UK’s Polari Book Prize Names Its 2019 Longlists: Two Awards, 12 Contenders

Narrowing down its longlists, the now double-award Polari Prize program names a doze titles for its shortlists. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Two Prizes, Two Shortlists n June 10, the dual-award Polari Prize program announced the longlists for its 2019 cycle in honoring... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-07-27 03:22:27 UTC ]
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Wellingtonians dominate top gongs at NZ Book Awards

Dame Fiona Kidman takes home a $53,000 prize for her acclaimed novel, 'This Mortal Boy' at the awards, held in Auckland on Tuesday night. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2019-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book prize names two winners as it criticises 'false hierarchy' of awards

Republic of Consciousness prize honours Will Eaves and Alex Pheby, but says awards make us wrongly consider a sole winner ‘the best’A novel about James Joyce’s troubled daughter, Lucia, and a reimagining of the chemical castration of Alan Turing have been named the joint winners of the Republic... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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