After 50 years, the prize has been scrapped. How did it change Britain’s literary landscape? And what happened at the awards when Margaret Drabble was seated next to Theresa May?Margaret Drabble was a bright young star with five novels to her name in 1971, when she was talked into joining her old friend JB Priestley on the judging panel for a new book prize. “Jack told me that I should spend the fee (which came in wine) by choosing some very nice half-bottles to drink by myself, which I did,” she recalls.Drabble argued for a biography of the playwright Henrik Ibsen, Priestley was keen on a novel by Gerda Charles, and their fellow judge, the critic Anthony Thwaite, championed a poetry collection by Geoffrey Hill. The glory of the new, brewery-sponsored awards was that all three could have prizes, so it all went swimmingly, with none of the squabbles that had already begun to bedevil the Booker, launched two years earlier. These arguments had included one over the literary quality of a certain Margaret Drabble, who (according to Booker judge Dame Rebecca West) would insist on lowering the tone by writing about the washing-up. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-23 05:00:38 UTC ]
Writer and poet Derek Owusu is to chair the judging panel for the National Centre for Writing's (NCW) £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize for debut novels. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-20 01:09:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Costa Book Awards program, in its 50th year, names winners in five categories: first novel, novel, biography, poetry, children's books. The post In London, Costa Book Awards Names Its Category Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-01-05 00:15:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Penguin Random House has dominated the Costa Book Awards 2021 category winners, with two Viking authors among the victors—Caleb Azumah Nelson and John Preston—along with Fig Tree's Claire Fuller and Manjeet Mann, with only Bloodaxe Books' Hannah Lowe preventing a clean sweep. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-04 12:23:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
BBC News journalist and broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti is to chair the panel of judges selecting the Costa Book of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-20 21:51:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
With the 'book of the year' winner to be announced on February 1, the Costa Book Awards will name its 2021 winner in 2022. The post The United Kingdom’s Costa Book Awards Name Five Shortlists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-11-23 19:51:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Author and journalist Mary Ann Sieghart will chair the judging panel for the Women’s Prize for Fiction for 2022, with fellow judges including writers Dorothy Koomson, Anita Sethi, Pandora Sykes and Lorraine Candy. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-08 15:25:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Michael Rosen’s "timely" poetry collection about migration, illustrated by Quentin Blake, is the winner of this year’s CLPE Children’s Poetry Award (CLiPPA). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 14:31:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishers speak of the profound effect the prize has had on Australia’s book industry in the decade since its establishmentOn International Women’s Day in 2011, a group of Australian women writers and editors appeared at a literary salon and spoke about their frustration at the male-dominated... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-07 01:56:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Today, the National Book Foundation announced its 5 Under 35 honorees: five fiction writers under the age of 35 “whose debut work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape.” As always, each honoree was selected by a writer who has been previously recognized by the National... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-21 14:00:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Today, the National Book Foundation announced their longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry. This year’s longlist is made up almost entirely of first-timers—with the exception of Forrest Gander, who was longlisted in 2018 for his poetry collection Be With. This year’s judges for the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-16 14:15:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Novelist Jessie Burton and children's book author Smriti Halls are among the judges confirmed for the 2021 Costa Book Awards, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-31 23:06:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Interviews Emilio Fraia’s Sevastopol, out this summer from New Directions, is the sort of book that beguiles and dazzles in equal measure. Consisting of three disparate stories—of a mountain climber attempting to scale Mt. Everest, a mysterious loner... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-08-09 20:31:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I’ll just say it straight: book awards are ridiculous. They are the garden gnomes of the literary landscape – fun, provocative, but ultimately ornamental. They have no more meritocratic substance than judging jambalaya over jelly at the village fete – it’s all a matter of personal taste. My... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-19 20:01:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Peepal Tree Press is behind the dark, magical realist novel that scooped the £30,000 Costa Book of the Year last week, with The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey putting a new spotlight on a small publisher that has consistently supported international Caribbean writing for 35 years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-04 21:20:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Monique Roffey has won the £30,000 Costa Book of the Year award for her “utterly original” sixth novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story, published by independent Peepal Tree Press. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-26 22:02:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Three writers who work in literature and screenwriting are behind the shortlisted trio of works in the Costa honors' 2020 cycle. The post Costa Book Awards Names Its Three Short Story Finalists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-13 22:04:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The five category winners of the 2020 Costa Book Awards are announced, with the 'book of the year' honor to come later this month. The post UK: The 49th Costa Book Awards Name Category Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-05 13:59:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Indies dominate the Costa Book Awards 2020 category winners, with two Faber & Faber authors among the victors—Natasha Farrant and Ingrid Persaud—along with Monique Roffey, Lee Lawrence, and the late Eavan Boland. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-04 11:53:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The judging panel for the David Cohen Prize for Literature 2021, to be chaired by scholar Hermione Lee, has been unveiled. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-10 03:14:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this