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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Canada’s $75,000 Cundill History Prize: 2022 Shortlist

The Cundill History Prize 2022 shortlist includes a current-year Pulitzer Prize winner among its eight titles from six publishers. The post Canada’s $75,000 Cundill History Prize: 2022 Shortlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-23 12:24:47 UTC ]
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Canada’s $83,000 Cundill History Prize: 2022 Shortlist

The Cundill History Prize 2022 shortlist includes a current-year Pulitzer Prize winner among its eight titles from six publishers. The post Canada’s $83,000 Cundill History Prize: 2022 Shortlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-23 12:24:47 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel, celebrated author of Wolf Hall, dies aged 70

‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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Acclaimed British Author Hilary Mantel Dead At 70

Mantel was credited with reenergizing historical fiction with “Wolf Hall” and two sequels about the 16th-century English powerbroker Thomas Cromwell. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-09-23 10:42:20 UTC ]
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In London and New York, Authors’ Trade Groups Hail Amazon’s Change on Self-Service Ebook Returns

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-22 19:04:47 UTC ]
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A migrant child’s long journey to Gringolandia

In his memoir, poet Javier Zamora recounts in gripping detail his boyhood travels from El Salvador to the United States. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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The German Book Prize Announces Its 2022 Shortlist

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UAE: Sharjah Book Authority’s New Awards Honor Rights Professionals

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-21 00:42:21 UTC ]
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Sexual abuse casts a long shadow in Ian McEwan’s ‘Lessons’

Sexually abused by his piano teacher, a boy struggles to reclaim his life in Ian McEwan's new novel "Lessons." Continue reading at The Washington Post

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A Visible Man by Edward Enninful review – the long road to Vogue

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Javier Marías, celebrated Spanish author, dies at 70

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Whiting Introduces Changes to Literary Magazine Prizes

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Maus’ Author Art Spiegelman Honored by US National Book Foundation

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-12 04:09:42 UTC ]
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The remarkable career, and long-hidden pain, of satirist Art Buchwald

The celebrated humor columnist skewered the powerful, and secretly battled depression, for decades. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-09 10:00:13 UTC ]
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A Community Rises to Support Alice Wong’s Memoir

Examining disability activist and writer Alice Wong’s work, it becomes clear that almost all of her life and career is oriented toward community—a community that has thrown itself wholeheartedly behind her new memoir, 'Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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British Academy Book Prize Announces Its 2022 Shortlist

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-06 04:01:57 UTC ]
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2022 Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

The finalists for one of the most prestigious prizes for English-language literature include Percival Everett and Elizabeth Strout. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Wattpad gave authors a boost. TikTok launches them to new heights.

On Wattpad, authors retain a lot of the control, but on TikTok, it’s hard to know when and how a story will go viral. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-03 13:00:59 UTC ]
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Barbara Ehrenreich, author who challenged American Dream myths, dies at 81

For her book 'Nickel and Dimed,' Barbara Ehrenreich tried to live on minimum-wage jobs and advanced debates on labor inequalities. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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Miss Marple is Agatha Christie’s best character. A new book reminds us why.

In “Marple,” contemporary writers such as Val McDermid, Elly Griffith, Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware contribute new stories starring St. Mary Mead’s favorite resident Continue reading at The Washington Post

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