They include authors from around the UK, the Commonwealth, and Ireland, who bring with them a rich breadth of cultures, identities and experiences.
Shortlists have been announced for the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award, the Betty Trask Prize, the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize, the McKitterick Prize and the Queen’s Knickers Award.
Jadelin Gangbo is among the shortlistees for the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize, for his novel Ground. Born in Congo-Brazzaville, Jadelin moved to Italy when he was four and has published numerous short stories and three novels in Italian. Ground is his first novel published in English and his most personal – Jadelin began writing it when he first moved to Britain and spoke little English, and it took him more than 14 years to complete.
Abdulrazak Gurnah, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021, is also on the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize shortlist for his novel Theft.
The elusive author Liadan Ní Chuinn (a pseudonym) is shortlisted for the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award for their short story ‘Amalur’. Liadan’s debut short story collection, Every One Still Here, was published last year to critical acclaim but little is known about the author except that they were born in the north of Ireland in 1998.
Gráinne O’Hare, originally from Belfast but now based in Newcastle, is the only author to receive two nominations. She appears on the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award shortlist for her short story ‘hell of a bird’ and on the Betty Trask Prize shortlist for her debut novel Thirst Trap.
The winners will be announced at the Society of Authors Awards at Southwark Cathedral on Thursday 18 June, alongside the winners of the Cholmondeley Awards, Eric Gregory Awards, Somerset Maugham Awards and Travelling Scholarships. Winners and runners-up will share a prize fund of more than £130,000.
Author, actor and activist Cerrie Burnell is delivering the keynote speech at the event and writer, librettist and composer Helen Epega will be hosting.
Cerrie said: “Storytelling is such a crucial and vibrant part of our cultural heritage. In a time where reading for enjoyment is dipping and there are many competing factors, I couldn’t be happier to be championing the necessary magic and power of books, celebrating authors from all different genres at a legendary summer party that looks to raise the bar for literary joy.”
The SoA Awards Ceremony is generously supported by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
Tickets for the event are available here. You can join us in person at Southwark Cathedral or virtually via the livestream.
Buy books by the shortlisted authors and awards judges here.
The shortlistees for each award are:
ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award
Sponsored by ALCS and Hawthornden Foundation, the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award is awarded for a published or unpublished short story by a writer who has had at least one short story accepted for publication. The winner will receive £2,000, the runner-up £1,000, and £500 is awarded to each of the shortlist.
Judged by Andre Bagoo, Yan Ge, Peter Hobbs and Eley Williams.
- Bhavika Govil for ‘Folding Your Mother’ (Granta Magazine, Jacaranda Books)
- Ola W. Halim for ‘Palimpsest’
- J.G Lynas for ‘King of All Hogs’
- Liadan Ní Chuinn for ‘Amalur’ (Granta Books)
- Gráinne O’Hare for ‘hell of a bird’ (Picador Books)
- Ucheoma Onwutuebe for ‘MAN’
Judge Peter Hobbs said:
“We had an uncommonly strong shortlist this year, and each story had its passionate supporters. Ranging from fantastical high concept, through subtly creeping existential horror, to beautifully delineated realism, they demonstrate the endless ways the short form can be configured to both tell enthralling stories and deliver deep truths.”
Betty Trask Prize and Awards
The Betty Trask Prize is presented for a first novel by a writer under 35. A single prize winner receives £10,000 and the remaining fund is split between the shortlist.
Judged by Andrew Cowan, Daisy Lafarge and Stephanie Sy-Quia.
- Harriet Armstrong for To Rest Our Minds and Bodies (Les Fugitives)
- Gabriel Flynn for Poor Ghost! (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton)
- George Harrison for Season (eye Books, Lightning)
- Rowe Irvin for Life Cycle of a Moth (Canongate)
- Gráinne O’Hare for Thirst Trap (Pan Macmillan, Picador)
- Issa Quincy for Absence (Granta Books)
Judge Andrew Cowan said:
“Year after year the Betty Trask Prize shines a light on the future of the contemporary novel, rewarding not just one exceptional debut but recognising the sheer range of approaches to making outstanding new fictions. This year’s six novels could not be more different or more in keeping with that tradition of excellence.”
Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize
The Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize is awarded to a UK or Irish writer, or a writer currently resident in those countries, for a novel focusing on the experience of travel away from home. In memory of Malcolm Lowry and endowed by Gordon Bowker, his biographer, and Ramdei Bowker. The winner receives £2,000 and the runner-up £750.
Judged by Soula Emmanuel, Anietie Isong and Derek Owusu.
- Kimberly Campanello for Use the Words You Have (Somesuch Editions)
- Jadelin Gangbo for Ground (Jacaranda Books)
- Abdulrazak Gurnah for Theft (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc/ Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing)
- Salma Ibrahim for Salutation Road (Pan MacMillan, Mantle)
- Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin for Ordinary Saints (Bonnier Books UK, Manilla Press)
Judge Soula Emmanuel said:
“There is a wondrous world in this shortlist. Five authors have written novels whispering with life, from Somalia to Brittany, Congo-Brazzaville to Ireland and Zanzibar to Italy – with three stops in modern London.”
McKitterick Prize
Sponsored by Hawthornden Foundation, the McKitterick Prize is awarded for a first novel, published or unpublished, by a writer over 40. The winner receives £4,000, the runner-up £2,000, with each shortlisted author receiving £1,000.
Judged by Rebecca Foster, Aamer Hussein, Wenyan Lu and Kathy O’Shaughnessy.
- Camilla Barnes for The Usual Desire to Kill (Simon & Schuster, Scribner UK)
- Vijay Khurana for The Passenger Seat (Peninsula Press)
- Claire Lynch for A Family Matter (Vintage, Chatto & Windus)
- Sanam Mahloudji for The Persians (4th Estate, HarperCollins)
- Miranda Moore for A Beautiful, Terrible Thing (David Fickling Books)
- Patrick Ryan for Buckeye (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Judge Rebecca Foster said:
“There’s a fine line between life and death, and the question of whether love can bridge the two is at the crux of these exceptional novels, which feature vibrant styles, powerful themes, and essential voices. No matter how dark things get, readers are in safe hands with such accomplished authors.”
Queen’s Knickers Award
Sponsored by its founder Nicholas Allan, the Queen’s Knickers Award is an annual prize for an outstanding children’s original illustrated book for ages 0-7. It recognises books that strike a quirky, new note and grab the attention of a child, whether in the form of curiosity, amusement, horror or excitement. The winner receives £5,000, as well as a golden Queen’s Knickers badge, as depicted in Nicholas Allan’s original book. The runner-up receives £1,000 and a silvered badge.
Judged by Ella McLeod, Jasmine Richards and Harry Woodgate.
- Peter Bently and illustrator Claire Powell for The Princes and the Pea (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Katie Clapham and illustrator Nadia Shireen for The Tour at School (Walker Books)
- X. Fang for We Are Definitely Human (Pushkin Children’s Books)
- Lu Fraser and illustrator Paddy Donnelly for Ava and the Acorn (Hachette Children’s Group (Hodder Children’s Books)
- George Kirk and illustrator Ana Gómez for Bessie’s Bees (Bonnier Books, Templar Books)
- Nancy Vo for Boobies (Faber Children’s)
Judge Jasmine Richards said:
“The shortlisted books all have something in common – they trust the reader to handle some big ideas and yet they deliver those ideas lightly and deftly. This shortlist made for a long and passionate debate because we connected to so many of the books but ultimately we were looking for the stories that we believe children would want to return to time and time again. We chose books that are just as quirky and distinctive as the readers they will delight.”
