Two Irish authors on longlist for €11.5k Desmond Elliott Prize
A Ghost in the Throat author Doireann Ni Ghriofa. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan
Doireann Ni Ghriofa and Naoise Dolan are among the authors who have been included on the longlist for the £10,000 (€11,500) Desmond Elliott Prize.
Named after the literary agent and publisher Desmond Elliott, the annual prize goes to a first novel written in English and published in the UK.
Dolan’s Exciting Times and Ni Ghriofa's A Ghost In The Throat are included on the longlist.
Andy Charman’s Crow Court, Rebecca Watson’s Little Scratch Paul Mendez’s Rainbow Milk, The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore, How We Are Translated by Jessica Gaitan Johannesson and JA Mensah’s Castles From Cobwebs have also been included.
The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams and Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Open Water complete the list.
Chair of the judges and winner of the 2016 Desmond Elliott Prize Lisa McInerney said: “So we can keep literature in rude health, a writer who finds success should never pull the ladder up after herself, and this is one way for me to hold that ladder for emerging writers, to pass on the welcome and encouragement and assistance I’ve been so lucky to get from my peers.”
Peggy Hughes, programme director at the National Centre for Writing, which runs the award, said: “We’re delighted to announce a longlist that asks questions of us, with this year’s debut novels exploring themes of self-discovery and language, as well as the nuances of British history and culture through the lens of female and black experience.”
The shortlist for the award will be revealed on June 1 before the winner is announced on July 1.
Last year’s prize was won by Derek Owusu’s That Reminds Me, which was published by Stormzy’s imprint #MerkyBooks.
Meanwhile, the 13-book longlist for this year's Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Ondaatje Prize has been unveiled and includes Cork author Caroline O'Donoghue.
The £10,000 prize is awarded to an outstanding work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that "best evokes the spirit of a place," according to organisers.
Included on the longlist are Caroline O'Donoghue's Scenes Of A Graphic Nature along with Catherine Fletcher's The Beauty And The Terror, which explores Renaissance Italy's role in the rise of the West, and This Lovely City, Louise Hare's novel about a Jamaican immigrant living in post-war London.
Monique Roffey with The Mermaid Of Black Conch and James Rebanks with English Pastoral complete the list.
