The Desmond Elliott prize reminds us that authors need long-term support

With her prizewinning debut, Claire Fuller could be following in the footsteps of Ian Rankin and Hilary Mantel who found success with their later work – but only with the support of her publisherAs one of the judges for the Desmond Elliott prize for best debut novelist this year, I couldn’t help reflect on some of the challenges still to come for the authors. With three such accomplished novels on our shortlist, there was some hard talking in the judges’ room, but in the end we decided, by an honourable 2:1 vote, to award the prize to Claire Fuller for Our Endless Numbered Days. It is a dark and perfectly poised account of a survivalist father hiding out in a remote forest with his increasingly embattled daughter that recalls the early work of Ian McEwan in its brooding slow build to a dramatic climax. But nobody could dispute the literary skill evident in the other books on the shortlist: Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey and Carys Bray’s A Song for Issy Bradley.The vital thing now is that these writers are offered long-term support from their agents and publishers. The amount of publicity given to those first novels that become instant bestsellers distorts the reality for the majority of debut novelists, even very gifted ones: a moderate advance, a small amount of acclaim, a continuing battle to get their next book written and then published. This is the reality for authors who want a sustained career in books. Related: Desmond Elliott prize goes to Claire Fuller's... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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D'Annunzio biography wins Samuel Johnson Prize

Lucy Hughes-Hallett's biography of Italian artist Gabriele D'Annunzio, The Pike (4th... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Printing Moves Beyond the Long Tail

There have been great advances in short-run digital printing (SRDP) and print-on-demand (POD) technologies over the last decade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beard book up for Waterstones prize

A graphic novel about a man's beard is up against works by Booker winner Julian Barnes and best-selling author Kate Atkinson for the Waterstones Book of the Year prize. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Could bees book win top literary prize?

The winner of the UK's leading award for non-fiction books, the Samuel Johnson Prize, will be announced next week, here Nick Higham speaks to nominated author Dave Goulson Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ether for Authors: Is Amazon Really in Retreat?

Porter Anderson looks at reactions to the news of Larry Kirshbaum's departure from Amazon Publishing, plus problems with print, and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlist revealed for 2013 T S Eliot Prize

The shortlist for the £15,000 T S Eliot Prize for Poetry has been revealed, with publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roald Dahl Funny Prize shortlists revealed

Nosy Crow and Random House Children’s Publishers have three titles apiece on the Roald Dahl... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ether for Authors: Where Is Publishing’s Jetpack?

A look at a the week's round of web musing on the future of publishing in concept, creative work, and technical production, after Frankfurt Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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MacGregor, Phillips and McCrum to judge 2014 Orwell Prize

Broadcasters Sue MacGregor and Trevor Phillips and Robert McCrum, associate editor of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Donaldson on book prize shortlist

Superworm, Julia Donaldson's tale of a resourceful worm and The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey's novel about an alien invasion, are among the 10 books shortlisted for the Red House Children's Book Award. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Almost 300 authors sign up to participate in 'Indies First' effort

Writer Sherman Alexie asked other authors to work at an indie bookstore on Small Business Saturday this year and hundreds of other writers have already pledged their support. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spain’s Clara Sánchez wins €601,000 Planeta Prize

Spanish author Clara Sánchez has won the 2013 Planeta Prize for her novel El cielo ha vuelto, a book about the nature of our economic and political environment. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowan Williams to judge Pushkin House Russian Book Prize

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is to chair the judging panel for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton targets literary sexism

The 28-year-old novelist from New Zealand, the youngest ever to win the prize, addressed the critics who have approached her complex novel with trite assumptions about gender.Running on a mere 2½ hours of sleep and exactly 12 hours after winning the Man Booker Prize for her novel “The... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eleanor Catton's 'The Luminaries' wins 2013 Man Booker Prize

Eleanor Catton took the 2013 Man Booker Prize for "The Luminaries" at an awards ceremony in London on Tuesday night.This post has been updated. Please see note at bottom for details. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booker Prize winner: Murder mystery wins prestigious award

Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton wrote an 832-page murder mystery set in Catton's homeland, New Zealand. This is the last year that the Man Booker Prize will be open only to writers from the former British Empire. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“Kiwi Twin Peaks” Wins 2013 Man Booker Prize

New Zealand author Eleanor Catton, at the age of just 28, has become the younger ever winner of the Man Booker Prize for her novel "The Luminaries." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ether for Authors: Is It Time for Publishing to Call a Truce?

Porter Anderson looks at the Frankfurt Book Fair, at Sprint Beyond the Book and Book Sprints, at pen names, and more in Ether for Authors this week. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Year-long promotion for Bear Hunt

The 25th anniversary of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Supporting the Indie Wave

In mid-September, James Patterson caught booksellers’ attention with something other than his latest bestseller, when he appeared on CBS This Morning and announced that he would give $1 million directly to independent bookstores in the form of grants. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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